Open any current newspaper and you will find full page advertisements blaring out at you that First National Bank is setting out to bring you "a better bank".
The campaign is not restricted to newspaper advertisements and includes asking current customers what they think and what they want. No doubt there have been a few good suggestions as well as a few unprintable replies.
FNB is one of the banks that Personal Finance criticised recently for not disclosing sufficient product information for individuals to make a reasoned decision.
So to find out what the better bank is all about I visited chief executive Viv Bartlett at Bank City in downtown Johannesburg.
Bartlett made it clear that this is not just another advertising drive selling his banking services like another brand of toothpaste. Real change is taking place at FNB, driven predominantly by concern about greater competition, mainly from offshore.
However, Bartlett admits that local competition has also given the bank a wake up call. Small private banks have been cherry picking high-net-worth clients by offering customised service.
The cherry-picking banks are not interested in the relatively high-cost pensioner in rural KwaZulu/Natal but are after people who want top-notch service and are prepared to pay for it.
The problem, Bartlett says, is that in the past high street banks like his have effectively been offering a one-size-fits-all-type service at the same cost.
"Consequently we have not been giving our customers the best deal or products, leaving ourselves open to competition."
Better banking services will not necessarily mean cheaper or more expensive banking. Bartlett says that in the past the bank has had difficulty in pricing services correctly because some services subsidised other services.
The changes are aimed at pricing services and products effectively while cutting out uneconomic services, or replacing them with new products made possible by new technology.
"Charges may be higher in some areas and lower in others."
Currently all First National Bank managers are expected to handle all types of business from small business to people saving R200 a month and everyone has to stand in the same bank queue.
Bartlett intends to bring you specialised banking, not only in service expertise, but also in specialisation of bank branches.
His staff are currently identifying the main type of work branches do. For example a branch which does a lot of small business or home loan business will be staffed with people with the relevant expertise.
Bartlett says this does not mean you will be sent trudging halfway across the country to find a branch to service your daily needs. You will still be able to deposit and withdraw money at your local branch, but for more complicated transactions you may find yourself talking to someone with more expertise from another branch.
"In future if you want Rolls Royce service you will have to pay for it."
For your money you will get better service and you will not have to wait in long queues. Already the bank has started introducing special counters for its high-net-worth customers, described as private bank clients.
To qualify for this better and more expensive service you have to have some fixed assets as well as earn a certain amount.
There could be branch closures in less profitable areas. Bartlett says that this does not mean that the KwaZulu/Natal pensioner will suddenly be without banking facilities.
The bank is moving ahead rapidly with electronic banking development which does not only mean automatic teller machines (ATMs), or accessing your bank account from your home computer. It also means the widespread introduction of smart banking cards (or debit cards).
Already the bank has about 500 000 debit cards in circulation. Now it is working on developing an extensive network of employers and retailers, which will enable the debit cards to come into their own.
The result Bartlett wants to see is employers paying wages or pensions directly onto smart cards. Simultaneously a system is being set up where retailers accept smart cards for payments.
It works like this: You get paid. You visit your bank or a nearby ATM. The amount of owing to you is credited to your smart card. In other words the information is transferred onto a computer chip on the card.
Off you go to Joe's trading store to buy your monthly groceries. Joe puts your card through a speedpoint machine.
Joe then connects his machine via Telkom to the bank, which in turn credits him with the money he has collected.
Bartlett wants to provide a 24-hour banking service whether it is by means of a telephone, an ATM, smart card or home computer.
He also does not want banking to be a "grudge payment". He accepts no one can get as excited about using a credit card as they can about buying a bottle of wine. However he would like your banking transactions to be as painless as buying a bottle of wine.
In the process of improving his service to current account holders he not only wants to keep them but to bring in new clients who are prepared to pay a reasonable amount for a good service with proper expertise.
Bartlett hopes to have all his ducks in a row within 15 months.
The ultimate target he would like to reach is to be able to say to his account holders: "If we make a mistake we will waive service charges for the month."