Finance and banking account for a large chunk of its economy as well.
So Johannesburg-based Standard Bank offers AccessAccount, which features benefits of a traditional banking account without having to visit a branch.
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Santander has staged an about-turn and will no longer withdraw its "free banking forever" account from 230, 000 small business customers.
Economic factors take into account banking services and currency exchange laws.
Last week Kohn took a bearish tone on the economy when he spoke before the Senate Banking Committee on account of the continuing problems in the financial markets.
In Africa, where just about everyone has a mobile phone but only a minority have a bank account, banking on the move seemed the obvious answer to all sorts of problems.
Although Wegelin had no branches outside Switzerland, it accessed U.S. banking through a correspondent UBS account in Connecticut.
Although many people on the continent do not have a bank account, the banking systems in some countries are growing increasingly sophisticated.
Paul, Minnesota, man has three online banking accounts, a PayPal account, domain names, Web-hosting accounts, multiple e-mail addresses and many social-networking accounts.
Those who have a basic bank account - a no-frills account often used by those with a chequered credit history - or a student account with Lloyds Banking Group receive paper statements at least once every three months.
To read the account of the banking crisis of 1931 is to read a kind of analogue, pipe and slippers version of what could happen if we get another Lehman this time around, with a combination of sovereign and banking debt crisis.
The most basic feature of a typical banking arrangement, a checking account, is getting more expensive.
However, regular current account holders at the banking group, as well as HSBC customers, receive paper statements every month.
They for example may have to seek approval of a commission to raise rates or adjust a capital reserve account in insurance or banking.
Online banking alerts provide instant updates on your account and can be sent by text or email.
The system will work something like this: when a banking customer logs into their online back account, there will be a tab which offers discounts available.
For example, your online banking username and password, checking routing and account number, account history and so on.
The foreign banks that cluster there account for over half of all banking liabilities in Britain and two-thirds of those in foreign currencies.
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Spanish banks account for 11% of the eurozone banking system.
Neither central nor state governments are likely to default, and the deficit is financed not by foreign borrowing, but by a high savings rate and a compliant banking system (in which state-owned banks account for 90% of deposits).
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For account holders, this new era of consumer banking means a return to basics.
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The Swiss banking giant also agreed to hand over the identities and account information of certain US clients.
China's economy is protected by its current-account surplus and vast reserves, but its banking system would be hurt by an abrupt withdrawal.
Turkey's government is trying to persuade Turks to transfer vast personal holdings of gold to the country's banking system, as it faces a bloated current-account deficit.
Postbank is reputed to have the biggest and best retail-banking operation in Germany, but most of its 11m account holders are unlikely to want the additional, fancy services touted as a source of Postbank's future growth.
And at the heart of it is a powerful idea - that your mobile phone number can become the key to your bank account without you having to hand over your banking details to anyone who wants to pay you.
The two banks account for around 50pc of deposits in the the banking system.
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In offshore banking, there are often considerable additional requirements to open the account to which you may not be accustomed.
"I personally won't use online banking, and I only use a cash machine with an account which has relatively little money in it, " he said.
Two-thirds of mobile banking users say they used their mobile phone to check an account balance or available credit before making a large purchase in the past twelve months.
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