How many times do you check your phone every day? Probably a good few.
And if you’re like most other people with a smartphone in South Africa – or anywhere in the world, actually – chances are that it doesn’t end there and that you get sucked into the addictive world of browsing and chatting.
Especially chatting: apparently humans spend more time on WhatsApp than any other app that exists.
A whopping 85.21 billion hours globally over only three months, to be precise.
That’s a lot of time spent sharing pics of how cute your [insert pet or bae here] is, or videos of your amazing weekend adventures or travels. So just think how much easier it would be if you didn’t even have to exit the app to get things done.
These are our top 5 reasons that we love being able to bank directly through WhatsApp:
1. You’re always on and always connected – you don’t have to leave the app to do something as silly as top up your data, meaning you don’t miss a minute of your friend’s gossip from the night before.
2. Purchasing the bare necessities is now right at your fingertips – it’s more than just a catchy tune from the Jungle Book.
If you use ChatBanking on WhatsApp, you get to do things like buy essentials such as pre-paid electricity quickly and easily.
3. It’s a more personalised way of interacting with your bank – and best of all is that you get to do it on your terms.
Also you can use conversational language and shortcut commands, making it easier than ever before to get what you need from your bank.
You don’t need to phone a call centre and wait in a queue with elevator tunes making you question your life’s purpose
4. You don’t have to stress about being ripped off – it’s totally safe, and because you add the bank to your phone as a contact, you have the peace of mind you need.
Your personal information is protected, and your account number and personal details will never be displayed in a chat. No hackers or scammers invited to the party.
5. You win back time – okay, technically you don’t actually win time back, but with the time you save by not needing to leave one app and open another to do anything from checking your bank or Rewards balance, redeeming your Rewards balance, paying beneficiaries and getting mini-statements or credit reports, it will feel like you are winning it back.
Which is great, because it’s more time that you get to spend on WhatsApp sending those pics and videos of your lunch and/or loved ones.
Sound too good to be true? The old saying goes that if it sounds too good to be true, it is. Another old saying also goes that there is always an exception to the rule. And this is the exception.
Brands and service providers are realising more and more that customers lead jam-packed lives with very little spare time – meaning that they have to fit as seamlessly as possible into your day.
WhatsApp banking is just one of the ways they are doing that. So you might as well make the most of it.
