The 6th annual MTN App Awards has come and gone and at the end of the day there was a final overall winner: Standard Bank’s Shyft app, which took both the Financial Solution and the overall Business App of the Year categories. Standard Bank’s head of Forex sales Fikile Kgobe said ” We are extremely honored to have received these awards and it’s a true validation of all the hard work and effort that went into building this app.”
Shyft, in case you weren’t aware, is an app that Standard Bank is marketing as a global wallet. Users have the option to acquire foreign currency through the app, rather than having to stand in line at an airport (or bank) Forex counter and sort out some dreary paperwork. But it goes a little further than that.
Users are also able to acquire various virtual credit cards, which must be loaded up with cash and which are then able to purchase online items from different countries using different currencies without incurring conversion penalties. There’s also the option to order a multi-currency physical card for use during international travel, an option that is handier than it sounds. You could always use a South African MasterCard or Visa overseas but you’ll pay to do so. This way is a little cheaper and given our exchange rate…
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Shyft is governed by various financial laws and restrictions, of course, so you can’t convert more than R1 million into international currency in a single year — not that most of us will ever hit that cap. There are a couple of other terms and conditions that the company outlines on its website but nothing too onerous. The app’s defining feature is convenience, after all.
Shyft is available for both Android and iOS phones. The app itself is free but you’re going to have to use your own money to use it. As it should be, even if we wish that wasn’t the case.