FNB customers spent over R3bn on Black Friday, the highest spend in four years

Johannesburg - On Black Friday, FNB customers made purchases worth over R3 billion, the highest Black Friday spending reported by the bank in the past four years, with over R2.4 billion spent in-store (card-present), and over R670 million for online shopping (card-not-present), the bank has announced.

FNB further said its FNB Virtual Cards also saw a significant increase in spending, accounting for over R137 million in purchases compared to just R36 million during 2021 Black Friday, a 280% increase.

"In a market where consumers are seeing an increase in the cost of living, many were always likely to take advantage of Black Friday deals. As anticipated, the most popular spending categories, including travel and transportation, groceries, clothing, and entertainment, experienced a robust recovery.

"The increase in travel is especially encouraging given that many consumers were unable to travel in the past few years due to global travel limitations, and it augurs well for the South African economy as the festive season approaches," says Chris Labuschagne, CEO of FNB Card.

Ashley Saffy, Head of business Development at FNB Card, notes the fact that customers are increasingly choosing safer and more convenient payment methods, such as using their virtual cards for online spend and doing contactless card and device transactions for instore purchases.

"The value of online (card-not-present) spend increased by 31% compared to the same period last year, while instore (card-present) spend increased by 18%. It's also encouraging to see that contactless payments increased by 36% compared to last year's Black Friday, demonstrating that customers are becoming more aware of convenient and safer payment methods, whether they shop in-store or online," she adds.

While Black Friday may be an important time for consumers to take advantage of deals, it is essential to keep in mind that the festive season is long. Therefore, it is essential for consumers to continue avoiding excessive and impulsive spending. FNB said it encourages its customers to maximise benefits such as eBucks rewards to make their money go further in areas such as fuel, travel, and grocery, and added that customers may also monitor, set up, and track their budgets via the FNB App.

Furthermore, FNB said it urges its customers to use their Virtual Cards for safer online transactions and to approve online purchases through the FNB App. The bank further explained that the Card Verification Value (CVV) security number for FNB Virtual Cards changes every hour, giving customers an additional level of protection.