FNB customers spent most in four years on Black Friday

FNB customers spent the most money in four years, over R3 billion on Black Friday, shelling out over R2.4 billion in-store with their cards and over R670 million on online shopping, while the bank’s virtual cards also saw a significant increase in spending of over R137 million compared to just R36 million last year on Black Friday, an increase of 280%.

“In a market where consumers see an increase in the cost of living, many are always likely to take advantage of Black Friday deals.

“As anticipated, the most popular spending categories, including travel and transport, groceries, clothing and entertainment, experienced a robust recovery,” says Chris Labuschagne, CEO of FNB Card.

He says the increase in travel is especially encouraging as many consumers were unable to travel in the past few years and it is positive for the South African economy as the festive season approaches.

Ashley Saffy, head of business development at FNB Card, says the fact that customers increasingly choose safer and more convenient payment methods, such as using their virtual cards for online spending and doing contactless card and device transactions for instore purchases.

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“The value of online spending increased by 31% compared to last year, while instore spending increased by 18%. It is also encouraging to see that contactless payments increased by 36% compared to last year, demonstrating that customers are becoming more aware of convenient and safer payment methods.

Although Black Friday is an important time for consumers to take advantage of deals, it is essential to remember that the festive season is long and therefore, consumers must continue to avoid excessive and impulsive spending.

FNB encourages its customers to maximise benefits, such as eBucks rewards to make their money go further for items such as fuel, travel and groceries. Customers can monitor, set up and track their budgets with the Nav>> Smart Budgeting functionality via the FNB App.

The bank also urges its customers to use their Virtual Cards for safer online transactions and approve online transactions through the FNB App. The Card Verification Value (CVV) security number for FNB Virtual Cards changes every hour, giving customers with an additional level of protection, while FNB also offers complimentary purchase protect insurance for up to R15 000 for 30 days after buying online with a FNB or RMB Private Bank Virtual Card.