By Berio Mbala WINDHOEK First National Bank (FNB) has extended its wings to encompass cellphone banking to accord its customers mobile banking via secure SMS. Launched on Monday, the bank says this will pave the way for a mobile rollout that is unique to FNB. According to the Manager: Advertising and Branding at FNB Namibia Holdings Ltd, Madre Frewer, convenience is the key with Cellphone Banking from FNB. Cellphone Banking is a full service banking option which will allow its customers to buy prepaid cell phone airtime, check their balance or get a mini-statement, transfer money between the customer’s FNB accounts and pay all their accounts, whenever or wherever on any cellphone. “Customers can be at home watching television and pay rent or clothing accounts, gym subscription, top up on prepaid cell phone airtime – all in the convenience of one’s own home,” she added. With this service, there will be no bank charges on prepaid cellphone airtime purchases or balance enquiries on the cellphone. “The banking fee per transfer from one FNB account to the other is N$2.50 and to pay any account is N$4.50 per transaction,” she said. Cellphone Banking is as secure as any other banking channel and FNB has taken all the necessary precautions to make it a safe channel of banking. She noted, “Each FNB customer who registers must choose a 5-digit pin, or as we call it, a MOPIN, that allows the customer to access his or her FNB account.” Like any ATM pin number, this is the customer’s secret number, and must be kept secret at all times, she cautioned clients. Frewer noted that cellphone banking customers must register in contact with the free SMS or e-mail notification service from FNB, which qualifies the customer for FNB’s money back guarantee. She advised customers to choose the best 5 digit MOPIN number and to avoid choosing simple sequences like 12345 but rather they should choose a number a customer knows he or she will easily remember, but which other people won’t easily guess. Another precaution is never to SMS your MOPIN number to anyone else. She explained that customers can only access Cellphone Banking when the MOPIN is entered in the cell phone. She noted that a feature of Cellphone Banking from FNB is how easy it is to use the channel. “To access Cellphone Banking, the customer simply has to dial *140*321#” she added. FNB is committed to show the customer how it works, and will gladly assist the customer with the first transaction. There are brochures that visually show the process, step by step. She added “We have embarked on a national education and awareness campaign, through all available media, as well as our branch network, and our committed staff will travel to the remotest of areas, to register customers and then statistics will be presented ….”