FBC Bank sheds more light on its send-to-cell service

Yesterday we reported FBC Bank’s “Send-to-Cell” service. This is a platform that allows FBC Bank account holders to send money to any mobile number, which is similar to the service launched by CABS last year but with some differences. Chief among them is that to access the funds sent from a CABS account holder you have to open a Textacash lite account.

In FBC’s case there was no further information about how the recipient would recieve the money. The press release the bank sent yesterday said that the person on the other end would recieve instructions on how to redeem the funds.

The one thing that I thought FBC would leverage was the facility to open a range of full KYC accounts via the bank’s USSD or Bank app in order to redeem the funds.

In light of this, the folks over at FBC reached out and gave us further details on the send-to-cell platform and how it is going to operate.

Service is open both to FBC account holders

My initial impression to the part about FBC Account holders using this service was bewilderment. Why would you need to send-to-cell to another FBC account holder when you can ask for their account number? And then it hit me.

It’s a lot more convenient to use a cell phone number than it is to ask for or try to remember an account number. If the person you want to send money to has an FBC account and they have it linked to that number then it’s far more convenient to use the phone number.

How to redeem money as an FBC account holder via Send-to-Cell:

• Step 1: Beneficiary Receives SMS Alert with Amount Received, Sender’s Mobile Number and Redeem Voucher Reference Number
• Dial *220#
• Select Banking Services
• Enter PIN
• Mobile Moola prompts a screen message that requires the client to select the card/account they wish to redeem their voucher for funds received via Send-to-Cell
• Enter Voucher Reference Number
• The funds are immediately credited into the client’s preferred account number

Apart from the process of having to enter the voucher number, this could work in the event of an emergency or if the recipient can’t remember their account number to do an internal transfer.

The big one “non FBC bank customers”

One of the biggest gripes I had with the platform was that it seemed to ignore the USSD/Bank App account opening facility.

Well, with the new information from FBC bank, non-FBC account holders will have the option to open a Full KYC account to redeem funds into.

To open an FBC account digitally via USSD (*220#), anyone can follow the steps below:

• The individual receives a transfer notification with instructions on how to redeem funds
• Dial *220#
• Select Apply for an account
• Accept Terms and Conditions
• Enter ID Number in the format 123456789A00. Do not leave space.
• Enter Surname
• Select 1 ZWL Currency
• Enter Home Address
• Select which branch you would like to collect the card from
• Select 1 to Confirm
• Receive an SMS with Account number.

To redeem funds sent all you’ll need to follow the account holder steps mentioned earlier.

I honestly wish that FBC has included this pivotal detail in the initial press release. This makes their send-to-cell service absolutely worth it for those who aren’t FBC customers and rely on mobile money.