In what looks like a trend sweeping the banking sector, NMB has joined Nedbank and FBC Bank in allowing anyone to open an account via USSD. But unlike FBC and Nedbank anyone wanting to open an NMB account, via its *241# USSD, can only open a KYC Lite Account.
Now, this isn’t ideal because KYC Lite accounts are far more restricted than Full KYC but it is at the very least a step in the right direction.
How to open an NMB Lite Account via USSD
The steps are much like the ones for FBC and Nedbank, you’ll need to:
- Dial *241#
- Accept the Terms of Service
- Select the account type you want (ZWL$ or USD Nostro)
- Enter your ID Number
- Next, you’ll enter your Date of Birth
After doing all of this you will then have to confirm your identity. Strange thing is that you don’t need to enter your name but it comes up in the confirmation stage. This might mean that NMB is using the same system FBC used for its insurance application via USSD as well it’s USSD account opening platform.
After you have confirmed your identity, you’ll then get what I think is a really cool addition. NMB allows you to link your EcoCash wallet to the account you are about to open. This is really well thought out because you don’t have to go into another seperate menu or go to the bank to do this.
When all of that is complete you will then a message that gives you your account number and you can begin transacting.
Registering for mobile banking
So I tried to register for mobile banking via USSD but I got an error code at every attempt but it worked seamlessly via the NMB Connect App.
As mentioned earlier the only limitation to this is that it only opens KYC lite accounts. Hopefully, NMB is using this as a test bed to then introduce full KYC accounts down the road.
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