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Mobile data usage among active FNB Connect customers aged 60 and older has increased by more than 240% over two-years, pointing to changing digital habits in a demographic often overlooked in conversations about technology. Over the same period, outgoing voice usage per SIM declined by 11%.
These figures point to a shift in how customers communicate rather than a change driven by customer growth. The contrasting trends are consistent with greater use of internet-based calling and messaging services such as WhatsApp in place of traditional mobile voice calls.
This Seniors Month, the findings from FNB Connect’s data insights provide a starting point for exploring how connectivity can support everyday convenience, family relationships and independence in later life.
FNB Connect CEO Sashin Sookroo says the significance lies in what a connection can make possible. “For an older person, connectivity might mean seeing a grandchild who lives overseas or another province, buying electricity without arranging transport or checking an account at a time that suits them. Those are everyday experiences with real personal value.
“The growth in data usage shows changing behaviour among our older customers. It gives us a reason to pay closer attention to their needs and how we can help them derive greater value from being connected.”
Everyday purchases are moving to the banking app
The FNB Connect insights also show older customers increasingly using the FNB Banking App to purchase services such as prepaid electricity and airtime. Among customers aged 60 and older using FNB’s Connect Service Provider services, the app experienced substantial growth in its share of transactions between the two measured 12-month periods. For customers who are comfortable using these services, completing a purchase from a phone can save a journey and make it easier to manage a task at a time that suits them.
“Being able to buy electricity from anywhere can make a practical difference, particularly when travelling is difficult or someone needs to arrange assistance,” says Sookroo. “For someone learning to use digital services, mastering one useful task can be a meaningful starting point. The support should help them do what matters to them, at their own pace.”
More ways to stay close
The opportunity extends beyond transactions. Messaging, photographs and video calls offer ways for older people to remain involved in the lives of family and friends who live elsewhere.
The growth in data usage suggests that everyday digital services, from instant messaging like WhatsApp to social media and video streaming, are becoming more relevant in how older customers stay connected, informed and entertained.
“A shared photograph or a video call can bring someone into a family moment they would otherwise miss,” says Sookroo. “For people separated by distance, having more ways to communicate can help maintain those everyday connections.”
For older customers using messaging services to stay close to family and friends, FNB Connect’s WhatsApp data rewards can also help make those everyday interactions more accessible and affordable. That opportunity depends partly on access to a suitable device. The number of FNB Connect customers aged 60 and older holding active device contracts increased by approximately 153% between August 2024 and August 2026. The growth reflects take-up within FNB’s device offering, rather than smartphone ownership across the wider older population.
Support that respects individual choices
Older customers have different circumstances, preferences and levels of digital experience. Some already manage many tasks online. Others need help getting started or prefer personal assistance for particular activities.
Sookroo says affordability, usability and access to support are central to making connectivity useful. “A device and a connection are the starting point. Clear instructions, readable screens and patient help can make it easier for someone to use a service confidently.
“Independence also includes choosing when you want assistance. Someone may happily buy airtime through an app and still prefer speaking to a person about a banking question. We need to respect both.” The findings show changing digital habits among these groups of older FNB customers. And, for Sookroo, Seniors Month is an opportunity to consider how those changes can translate into practical value.
“The question is what connectivity helps someone do,” he says. “Stay close to people they care about, manage an everyday need or access useful information. That’s where its value becomes personal.”
INFO SUPPLIED.