“…the new version of the app will also support fingerprint scanning for login on both Android and iOS.”

South Africa’s First National Bank is delving into mobile payments with a new version of its app.

Taking its cue from the most prominent mPayment platforms, like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, the bank has dubbed this new system FNB Pay. It works in much the same way as those systems, too, using NFC technology to let cardholder tap and pay at POS terminals supporting the technology.

Notably, the function is only available on Android devices, with Apple presumably restricting FNB from accessing its iPhones’ NFC technology, as it has with respect to other banks. But the new version of the app will also support fingerprint scanning for login on both Android and iOS.

It’s FNB Pay that is the real pioneering effort here, however. Many banks have agreed to support the major mPayment platforms, but few have tried to launch such platforms themselves. If they can get their cardholders to choose their own apps instead of systems like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, they can avoid losing service fees to those third party operators.

Sources: TechCentral, Sunday Times