South Africa's First National Bank (FNB) is taking its embrace of mobile services to the next level, launching its own-branded handsets.
The ConeXis X1 and A1 phones will be sold at 380 branches around South Africa from next month, with the FNB app pre-installed, in a move that "fully integrates banking and customer mobility".
Made by Chinese firm ZTE, the cheaper A1 model is aimed at FNB Easy Account holders while the more expensive X1 - with higher specs and more airtime minutes and data - is being pitched to Gold and Premium customers.
Users pay a deposit which is put into a savings account and returned with interest after 24 months. X1 customers can also get a 100% rebate on their monthly instalments depending on their eBucks rewards levels.
The phones are SIM-locked to FNB Connect, the mobile virtual network launched by the bank last year and which already has 400,000 active customers.