FNB has announced a new account as part of its annual pricing review, with a focus on banking the family.

As from 1 July all FNB Gold customers will be converted to FNB’s new Aspire account.

It comes with lower monthly fees – dropping from R109 to R99 – and customers can use eBucks to pay their bank fees via the FNB App.

It also includes two SLOW Lounge visits if you book flights via the FNB App using your Aspire credit card.

As part of FNB’s focus on banking the whole family, Aspire includes a 50% reduction in a spousal monthly account fee and free banking for kids on FNBy (youth).

Family banking is a big push for the bank, with the whole family able to earn up to 3 000 eBucks, 40% discounts on flights and free SLOW lounge visits for the whole family when booking via the App.

Children under 18 on the FNBy account pay no cash deposit fees for amounts under R500 and receive free Connect data.

The spousal offering is available to any spouse/partner of an existing FNB customer, and the spouse/partner is eligible to open their own account (separate from that of their spouse), which will qualify for the same service model, features, and benefits of their spouse, irrespective of their income, at a discounted monthly account fee.

A spouse is added using the functionality of MyFamily via the App and the relationship is mutually verified using in-app messaging.

Simplification of eBucks

FNB has also simplified the eBucks programme, and Aspire customers will not have to move up levels to earn more eBucks. While the overall programme has been simplified, those Gold account holders who were on levels 4-5 previously will see a significant drop in their earn rate.

For example, Level 5 gave an R8/litre reward when filling up at Engen, but Aspire customers will earn only 60c/litre, unless they have Wesbank vehicle finance and fill up exclusively at Engen, in which case the reward increases to R1.20/litre.

According to FNB, the majority of Gold customers were on Level 1 and 2 and were therefore only earning 25c/litre at Engen, which means those customers will benefit from the new flat rate of 60c/litre.

Although FNB advertises that you can earn up to R150 back when you spend with their partners (Checkers, Clicks, Engen and Intercape), you can only earn the maximum if you have taken out additional products with the bank.

If you only have an FNB Aspire current account or only an Aspire credit card, then the maximum eBucks value you can earn is R50 per partner. To qualify for extra eBucks you need to either have a minimum balance in savings of R150 000 or a credit product such as a credit card, home loan, student loan or personal loan.

According to FNB the majority of the Aspire base has both a current account and credit product.

If you spend R4 000 a month on your FNB Aspire card every month for 12 months, and either add R500 a month to your investment or maintain a savings balance of R16 500, then you receive a R1 500 voucher to buy a pair of shoes from one of their reward partners plus a KAUAI smoothie each month.

The reward also applies if you have either FNB funeral cover for R50 000 or a life insurance policy of at least R400 000 with FNB.

Monthly account fees for the affluent market have increased, with FNB Premier clients paying R219, Private clients R399 and Private Wealth clients R499.

As with Aspire, spouses or partners get a 50% fee discount and you can pay your monthly transactional fee with eBucks.

Additional benefits for entry-level accounts

For the second year in a row FNB is keeping its monthly account fees for its entry-level products unchanged, while the cost of cash withdrawals at FNB ATMs for Easy Zero and Easy PAYU clients has been reduced from R8.00 per R1 000 (up to R2 000) to R7.00 per R1000 (up to R2 000).

Easy Smart rewards include:

• An annual R500 Shoprite/Checkers and uSave voucher when they spend and save with FNB or have FNB Funeral Cover or FNB Life Insurance.
• R150 back in eBucks every month when they spend at selected retail partners including Shoprite/Checkers, Clicks and Engen.
• 300MB data, 30 voice minutes & 30 SMSs every month on their FNB Connect SIM with an extra 300MB of data when they top up their FNB Connect SIM with R51 or more during the month.

This article first appeared in City Press.