The famous acacia tree which South Africans have associated FNB with for the past 35 years has undergone a redesign.
On Friday, FNB unveiled its new look, with the traditional acacia tree looking much like that of an upside-down Wi-Fi symbol.
But the bank says this was not its intention, and that while they have upgraded their digital offering which was also launched at the event, the change was actually to show that FNB was more advice-led rather than product-led in the delivery of its solutions.
It explained that the logo was rather an attempt to stay relevant to its new generation of customers by presenting a more modern version of the acacia tree.
Speaking to The Citizen, CEO Jacques Celliers provided a little insight into the logo changes.
Meanwhile, the FNB app has also been redesigned to offer even more intuitive help through its ease of use and a safer digital experience. The new user experience is underpinned by personalisation.
“Customers can now personalise their FNB app by customising its home screen and selecting frequently used or preferred features. Customers can also view a snapshot of their transactional accounts, credit, investments, insurance, and value-added services. In addition, the search function has been improved to help customers find services much quicker. Similar enhancements are being made to the internet banking channel,” the bank said in a statement.
FNB Chief Marketing Officer, Faye Mfikwe, said: “The refresh helps us to create a versatile brand look and feel that aligns with our accelerating transition to helping customers beyond banking into lifestyle and business solutions categories.”
Social media users were not convinced by the redesign.
But the negative comments have not deterred the bank in its efforts to bring to its customers a reimagined service they never expected, with a new digital experience at the forefront of Fintech offerings in Africa.
“We continue to facilitate our customers’ journey from analogue to digital and digital to platform. We’re excited to see millions of our customers embracing the migration to safer interfaces. Our digital interfaces has seen over 3 billion transactions and 1.6 billion digital interactions over the past 12 months. Likewise, we recognise that fraud is a reality in our society, and we are continuously enhancing our measures to assist millions of our digitally active customers in mitigating these risks,” said CEO Celliers.
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