Absa unveils revamped online banking

A beta of Absa’s new online banking site has been rolled out to customers

May 22, 2012

Absa has unveiled a beta version of its new banking platform to its online banking customers, which the bank says number in 1.25 million.

The overhaul has been in development for two years, Absa said, adding that it represents a step-change from what was a purely transactional online service, to a suite of transactional and non-transactional services.

This includes tools to better manage your monthly spend and assist with financial planning.

“Absa Online, and Absa Online for Business, as the services are known, are designed to offer customers a single view of their financial affairs – a portal to one’s entire financial world,” explained Arrie Rautenbach, head of retail markets at Absa.

According to Absa the new interface lets customers easily navigate between various aspects of the service; making payments has been simplified; the design has been modernised; and new features have been introduced such as a secure, text-based messaging channel between the customer and the bank.

Absa Online beta dashboard

This week’s launch is the first phase of Absa Online, Rautenbach said, with new features set to release over the course of the year.

“There are a number of innovations planned for later in 2012, designed to further refine the personal financial management capabilities and give customers an even richer banking experience,” Rautenbach said.

Absa said that Absa Online was designed specifically with Apple and Samsung tablet devices in mind.

According to Absa the launch follows a successful trial with the bank’s 36,000 employees over the past few months which allowed the project team to identify and solve any defects and gauge the response from users.

“The development of Absa Online saw up to 140 individuals, working across three continents, putting in an astonishing 450 000 man-hours of development work,” Rautenbach said.