The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited, one of South Africa's largest financial services groups, is set to extend its banking facilities to customers who were previously “unbanked” – i.e.,  who did not have a bank account earlier.

Standard Bank is now offering Mobile AccessBanking in South Africa. Under this service, customers can access banking facilities through Mobile AccessAccount, a traditional banking account based on the SAP (News - Alert) Mobile Platform.

AccessAccounts can be opened through mobile phones and will help millions of low-income individuals who are unable to avail banking facilities for various reasons.

About 22 million South Africans have a monthly income of ZAR 3,000 or less. Out of this, over 65 percent do not have access to a bank account or general banking services. Standard bank initiated the Mobile AccessAccount facility to reach out to this previously unbanked segment.

With the help of the SAP-enabled app, customers can sign up for banking services via their mobile device, allowing the bank to extend its facilities to rural areas. Secure management components ensure that sensitive information remains exclusive to the owner.

Through AccessAccount, customers can perform person-to -person transfers. They can pay bills and purchase airtime through their mobile phones, reducing the need to visit an ATM.

Standard Bank started offering this service in March 2012 and has been able to open more than 555,000 new customer accounts through Mobile AccessAccount. SAP mobile platform has a strong security management component so that transactions remain secure.

SAP’s mobile platforms have been enabling information transaction from enterprise systems onto mobile devices with much ease. The Mobile Platform efficiently integrates SAP and third-party systems, and customers can visually create rich mobile apps to expedite the dispensing of information from enterprise systems to the end-user mobile device.

Peter Wharton Hood, deputy chief executive, Standard Bank Group, indicated that the bank is going through a very exciting phase. He explained the firm’s new IT system and said that mobile origination is not only about 80 percent cheaper, but also far more user-friendly and easier to access.

This has helped the bank to significantly increase its consumer base, and as a result they are now opening over 7,000 new accounts per day via SMS.

Each new transaction takes less than six minutes, far exceeding the company’s expectations.

Pfungwa Serima, chief executive officer at SAP Africa, said this new innovative banking project is vastly improving the lives of many people, and he foresees the continued success of this implementation across the continent.

These types of initiatives help the masses in a big way, forming the base for better things for a great number of people who remain unreachable otherwise.