• FNB has announced plans to move 100 branches on to solar power.
• The bank’s CEO says it’s a necessary transition in order to have a positive impact on the environment and FNB’s operations.
• While FNB strives to be a digital first bank, millions of customers still rely on physical branches and staff to assist them.

The unrelenting plague of power cuts in South Africa affects everybody in the country, especially businesses. We’ve seen the likes of Spar and Pick n Pay needing to invest in backup power systems, severely impacting the revenue of those companies.

The latest to announce plans to lessen its reliance on Eskom’s grid is FNB. On Monday morning, the bank with over 600 branches nationwide announced it was putting 16 percent of those branches onto solar power.

“Approximately 97 percent of our branches are already equipped with backup power solutions, including Uninterrupted Power Supplies (UPS) and Lithium batteries, to ensure access to services during intermittent loadshedding. However, in keeping with our commitment to have a positive impact on the environment and be more resilient in our operations, it’s necessary to transition to renewable energy sources,” explains chief executive officer at FNB, Jacques Celliers.

FNB already lets you search for branches that are “unaffected by loadshedding” on its website as pictured below.

The first of the 100 branches earmarked to receive solar power are located in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, Phuthaditjhaba in the Free State and Zeerust in the North-West province. The transition to solar will take a phased approach so as to ensure that operations aren’t negatively impacted.

“Our branches are critical in facilitating economic activities in local markets. While millions of our customers use channels such as our FNB App, Online, and Cellphone Banking to access most services, many continue to visit our branches to perform a range of activities and consult our advisors on financial requirements. Therefore, it is essential for us to remain accessible to local communities,” chief executive officer at FNB Points of Presence, Lee-Anne van Zyl said in a statement.

This is good news for FNB customers and hopefully, the bank expands this initiative to move more of its branches to renewable energy sources.