Johannesburg – First National Bank has added a ‘motoring concierge’ to the ‘nav»’ tool on its smartphone banking app.
We couldn’t think of a better description for the nav» Car platform, which reminds you when you and your dependents’ car licences are due – and enables you to renew them online by scanning the old disc, and have the new disc delivered to your door at a cost of R199 a time.
You can also get instant fine notifications – and settle them just as instantly with a payment function built into the app.
The new app helps you with motoring-related financials such as keeping track of servicing and managing your car finance payments – and if your car is financed by FNB, you have instant access to all the documentation.
There’s even a ‘Business Class’ option called On-road Protect which, for a subscription of R95 a month, will renew the licences of up to five vehicles and deliver the discs to you free of charge, negotiate traffic fine discounts on your behalf, provide legal assistance and pay your bail if you get arrested at a roadblock, help you submit tyre repair claims due to pothole damage, and assist you with Road Accident Fund claims.
E-Tolls? You're on your own
The only things it can’t help you with, according to nav» chief imagineer Jolandé Duvenage, are e-tolls (yet) and renewing a car licence that’s been blocked because of outstanding fines, in the same way as if you’d tried to do it yourself.
But at least you won’t have been standing in a queue all morning, only to get to the front and find that your renewal has been blocked!