FNB Online Banking App

You can look at the FNB Online Banking App and see good sign of how online banking is fast changing the way that we bank. It has become so integral to our experience that for many of use, the last time we were in a bank was to open my most recent bank account. The FNB has made it virtually unnecessary to go to the bank with all the functionality that I keep discovering.

Currently, FNB has introduced the nav-igate life set of features to the app that you can use to manage your finances and initiate important processes like vehicle and home finance. If you don’t have it yet, you can download the FNB online banking app on their website.

FNB Online Banking App Goal

The goal seems to be a remote relationship with clients and only a support component from the banks. All the banks are pushing in this direction. This can be seen by the technological changes that are being adopted by savvy and forward-thinking business. FNB, for example, is making a great push toward online banking by waiving certain technicalities like having financial statement on paper. You can now get a verified and stamped statement of finances in digital form.

In another example, if you go to an FNB branch and require a bank statement, there is a dedicated station in the bank that is connected to the internet and even though they guide you through it, you essentially have to print it out yourself. If you have your own computer and printer and access to the internet you immediately realize that this is something you could have done at home or work and saved yourself the petrol and queuing time at the bank.

FNB Nav App features

The newest feature that I am very impressed with is the nav feature that gives you a user-friendly profile of your finances

As FNB describes it, “nav» is a smart new tool designed to point you in the right direction when it comes to making decisions about your money. It’s like a financial GPS that steers the way, wherever you need it most.”

FNB Nav Money

One of the most appreciated features will surely be the credit status feature. Using the information that is gathered from your activity through your bank account as well as information about your credit profile from the credit bureaus, FNB gives you a profile on where you stand on creditworthiness and which credit facilities you qualify for with them. This information is given in a graphic form that allows you to visualize what your credit looks like for each credit type.

For many this will save them the unpopular cost of paying for a credit score from people like Transunion. While we are all entitled to one credit report a year, it does not tell you whether you are in a good or bad position, which is what you want to know. They give you information, essentially in a list and you pay R80 for a credit score, which is really an arbitrary number on their scale as the different bureaus use their own differing scoring systems.

FNB’s credit gives you a visual representation of what your credit score looks like with a colour scheme from green to red to orange. So while your score does not guarantee a loan, you can know instantly whether you qualify for a personal loan or a home loan, and all for free.

Additionally, the feature provides information that tells gives you specifics on how to improve your credit status on the FNB platform. You can make improvements and watch your status change towards the green over weeks. It motivated me to start saving just to see my profile improve, it’s as if I’m playing a game and I am trying to win, take screenshot now and then take one when my score improves to the maximum band. I feel coaxed but it was for my own good as it encouraged me to adopt positive credit habits that benefit me in the end.

FNB Nav Home

FNB Nav home is a neat feature that you can use to conduct home finance, whether it is to buy, a property or to sell it. Many users will find it useful as it guides you well through the home loan application process. You can go through the majority of the process of home loan application from your couch and at the tip of your fingers.

You can get pre-approved for a home loan through the app within one day (pre-approval is having your finances and affordability checked to determine if you qualify for finance. After pre-approval, you can make a home loan application through the app. All you will need to do is upload certain documents as and when they are needed.

Note: Home loan applications are best done with a bond originator than directly through a bank. For more information on why, read the Home Loan Broker’s section on How To Get A Home Loan when self-employed.

FNB Nav Car

With FNB Nav Car you can renew your licenses, pay fines and apply for vehicle finance through the application. You can load up to 5 vehicles onto the platform and using the feature also has the potential of raising your eBucks rewards level up by one. FNB will also automatically pre-select you for Vehicle Asset Finance. In other words, they will let you know how much you possibly qualify for with regard to a car loan. Registering for Nav will, however, will require FNB to collect information about you from third parties so if you are particular about your privacy (if it still exists in that sense) you should be aware of those implications.

In Closing

These new features in the FNB app add a lot of convenience to how we bank. The changes are heavily focused on user experience and are particularly useful to those with busy schedules who do not have time to go to a physical bank. You no longer have to make extra time or even take a day off for things that used to call for that before. Hopefully other banks will introduce similar features of their own that add this level of convenience.

---

How is your experience with the FNB app and what features do you find most useful?