FNB takes ATMs to spaza shops

FNB says it has beefed up its physical presence in townships through AgencyPlus, a platform that brings banking services to the “underbanked” and is gaining traction within its broader African market.

CEO Harry Kellan said AgencyPlus allows SMEs, including spaza shops, to partner with the bank as an agent, offering ATM transactions such as withdrawing and depositing cash. This means customers can withdraw cash and perform other ATM related transactions at SMEs that have permission to use the platform.

“For the customer, it is better; they don’t have to go to the branch or walk to the ATM — the SME is right there. For the SMEs, they get footfall, which means the customer can buy whatever is in store,” he said.

AgencyPlus went from 25 to 118 agents in the year ended June 2025, with Kellan expecting further growth. He said the model was also successful on the continent, where it is called CashPlus. Its agencies have increased from 4,325 to 5,089.

We are making it easier for customers to bank. Is there an unbanked South African population? I think there are more underbanked than unbanked

—  Harry Kellan, FNB CEO

“We are making it easier for customers to bank. Is there an unbanked South African population? I think there are more underbanked than unbanked. What I mean by that is that they are banked, but they are not taking full advantage of what banking can offer in terms of financial services holistically. Our view is making it easier for bank customers to be able to do that.”

Kellan, who was previously CFO of FirstRand, FNB’s parent company, said the agencies linked to AgencyPlus were not necessarily going to be doing sales, but that could be added in future.

“Right now, it is for FNB customers to be able to do banking transactions, so they can go there to withdraw money. But clearly, if that facility is available there, then an unbanked person can say I need to bank with FNB, and we can bank them, and they can become transactors at the spaza shops.”

Competition for township and rural markets is rife, with Capitec eying the growing SME market, TymeBank enabling its customers to withdraw cash at more than 172,000 spaza shops and traders across the country.

FNB defines SMEs as businesses with a turnover of less than R60m, and that’s why they are going after these in the townships.

“We want a presence in townships, people say it is the informal economy, I personally say it is a community economy because informal does not necessarily explain fully the activities there because it is quite formalised,” he said.

FNB has increased deposits to R1-trillion, boasts 767 branches and has advanced loans of R47bn to 1.2-million customers in the SME market 

Kellan said while banks were investing in the growth of digital channels, cash still remains king in South Africa.

“We don’t think cash can get out of the system, but there will be less cash. Commercial customers pay us to deposit cash; it is a strategy that we have had for a long period of time, and that continues, but ATMs become much more expensive if you don’t have the right volume.”

FNB recorded an 8% increase in normalised earnings to R23.61bn in the year under review. It has 10-million active customers and concluded 8.2-million eWallet transactions. The 187-year-old bank recorded a 7% growth in South Africa and 5% in African countries where it operates.

It faced headwinds in Botswana, where revenue derived from the production and sale of diamonds is low due to a slump in demand.

“We can’t divorce ourselves from the economy as a domestically significant bank in the market. Botswana will be painful for the portfolio for sure,” Kellan added. 

FNB also benefited from strong non-interest revenue growth at its mobile virtual network, FNB Connect, Send Money, and its rewards programme eBucks, which has 3-million clients. Total revenue from these platforms grew 15% to more than R2.9bn.