Cross-border payments are a lifeline for many people and businesses in Africa. 

These customers rely on fast, secure and cost-effective payment offerings to manage the daily transfer of funds to friends, associates and family members in other countries.

To meet evolving customer needs, First National Bank (FNB) has partnered with BankservAfrica for its Transactions Cleared on an Immediate Basis (TCIB) system. 

This solution will process low-value payments within the Common Monetary Area (CMA) of South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho and eSwatini immediately, 24/7.

The move is part of FNB’s ongoing commitment to enhance its customer offerings while complying with the latest regulatory requirements for cross-border payments. 

Traditionally, the majority of FNB’s cross-border payments within the CMA were processed via the Electronic Fund Transfer – but with the evolving compliance regulation, the need for a more compliant system became clear. 

BankservAfrica’s TCIB solution was selected as the ideal replacement, ensuring compliance while enhancing speed, convenience and security.

The integration of the BankservAfrica platform now allows FNB to offer cross-border payments between FNB accounts in different CMA countries via its Global Payments platform, which is easily accessible on the FNB app and FNB Online Banking.

“The agreement, signed on 24 September and fully implemented by 18 October 2024, marked a significant milestone for us,” said Ian Erlank, Rand Merchant Bank Holdings Namibia’s head of global markets. 

“The speed and ease with which our customers can make cross-border transactions is of utmost importance. Customers can now enjoy this service without any additional fees or requirements,” he stated.

The TCIB system is BankservAfrica’s innovative cross-border payments platform, which allows for near real-time clearing of transactions. 

It not only mirrors the simplicity of EFT payments but also introduces several added advantages, such as real-time processing, enhanced security, and 24/7 processing of payments.

“The transition to TCIB was an important step for us,” said Richard Porter, CEO of Forex at FNB South Africa.

Our clients will experience a seamless, automated process for cross-border payments that feels almost identical to the EFT process they are familiar with, but offers significant improvements, including immediate payment clearance, low costs and high-security features,” he remarked.

One of the standout benefits of the TCIB system is the speed of transactions and the lack of restrictions on time of use. 

Payments can now be processed in near real-time – even outside traditional banking hours, including evenings, weekends and public holidays. 

This level of convenience provides a substantial advantage over the previous EFT system, which was limited to standard banking hours.

Over the upcoming months, the bank plans to introduce a system enhancement that will incorporate an automatic beneficiary account verification process, which occurs as soon as beneficiary details are entered – at no extra cost to the client. 

This added layer of security will ensure that all payments are sent to valid accounts, reducing the risk of fraud and errors.

“Over the years, we have made sizeable investments into constantly integrating advanced technology into our platform-based business, which has allowed us to transform the foreign exchange landscape – and more importantly, the cross-border payments experience of all our individual and business clients. 

“With solutions such as TCIB being added to our array of cross-border payment solutions, we have widened our offerings to ensure that we provide our clients with a variety of valuable solutions for their individual and commercial needs,” added Porter.

As the leading automated clearing house in Africa, BankservAfrica has played a pivotal role in developing the TCIB Cross-Border Payment Scheme for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. 

Launched in 2021, TCIB was designed to simplify cross-border digital P2P payments, reduce remittance costs and support activity for the benefit of economies. 

Its growing network now spans several countries in the region –South Africa, Zambia, Namibia and Zimbabwe, with further expansion plans on the horizon.

Tebogo Diphoko, Africa Strategic Business Development Executive at BankservAfrica, said “The adoption of TCIB by FNB aligns with the shared goals of both organisations to promote financial inclusion and increase access to financial services across Southern Africa. By enabling low-cost, immediate payments across borders, TCIB fosters greater economic participation between SADC countries for activities such as remittances or similar day-to-day transactions”.

“We are pleased to partner with FNB, and take the lead in introducing this innovative solution to the market. This represents a significant milestone in TCIB’s journey towards ensuring equal access to cross-border payments and promoting inclusive payments throughout the region and the wider SADC community. We believe in the strength of meaningful collaborations to make this possible, reflected in the well-known African proverb ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together’,” said Ruhling Herbst, executive head of Africa Business Development at BankservAfrica.

The partnership between FNB and BankservAfrica marks a new era of efficient and inclusive financial services in the region. 

With TCIB’s ability to process peer-to-peer remittances, it is set to become the preferred cross-border payment service in the CMA – and potentially across the broader African continent.