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24 December 2018 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Anja Aucamp
Dr Johan Coetzee
Technology is revolutionising the way we both transact and interact with banks. The focus of Dr Johan Coetzee’s research is bank-client relationship.
Dr Johan Coetzee, senior lecturer in the Department of Economics and Finance and member of the UFS Prestige Scholars Programme (PSP), started his career in the banking industry.

It was all very exciting, but when the opportunity arose to join academia in 2004, he jumped at it. “The main focus of my research is bank-client relationship, and specifically its social and economic dimensions. I like why banks do what they do and why clients react the way they do to banks. It is always fascinating to hear the stories people tell about their banks, whether at a braai among friends and family, or at a high-level academic conference,” said Dr Coetzee.

Interaction with clients changing

With technology driving the future of banking in such a dramatic way, the impact Fintech has on bank-client relationships has been the focus of his latest research.

“Technology has already changed the way banks interact with clients. We use apps, cellphones, tablets, and biometric finger scanning to do our banking. Gone are the days when our only means of interacting was with the bank manager personally. Technology is revolutionising the way we both transact and interact with banks.”

Smart devices drive almost everything

“It is exciting, but also a daunting prospect. If regulators are not able to put measures in place to minimise potential risks, we can very easily have another global financial crisis on our hands. In fact, my view is that the next crisis will be packaged in a technology wrapper,” he said.

Dr Coetzee believes that five years from now, banks will in a very real way be driven by technology. “Although they will not disappear altogether, branches will get smaller and not resemble at all what we know them to be today. Banks will be a lot more social at the personal interaction level and digital at the electronic interaction level. A smart device will digitally drive almost every transaction and interaction with your bank.

“There will, however, still be an element of personal interaction. My fear is that if this is lost, we will become part of a faceless industry driven by robots and algorithms. Personal interaction driven by a quality relationship based on trust between bank and client must still exist, and I argue that for banks to remain relevant in the future of tomorrow, this must be retained at all costs.”

News Archive

UFS academic discusses Dutch, Afrikaans and African languages
2006-05-22

During the colloquium presented in Belgium by the Province Antwerp were from the left Prof Pol Cuvelier (University of Antwerp), Prof Theo du Plessis (Director: Unit for Language Management at the UFS), Mr Ludo Helsen (Permanent Deputy: Province of Antwerp) and Mr Jean-Pierre Rondas (Flemish radio journalist).

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UFS academic discusses Dutch, Afrikaans and African languages at international conference

Prof Theo du Plessis, Director of the Unit for Language Management at the University of the Free State (UFS), was the main speaker at a colloquium titled “Routes:  Where to now? - Een traject van het Nederlands naar het Afrikaans en de Afrikatalen”, which was recently presented by the Province Antwerp in Belgium.

 The aim of the colloquium was to discuss the future cooperation in the field of language between the Province Antwerp and South Africa. 

 The Province Antwerp is already involved with projects in South Africa.  One of these projects is the Multilingual Information Development Programme (MIDP), a partnership project between the UFS and the Free State Province that is mainly funded by the Province Antwerp. 

 The project has been running since 1999 and was recently in the news with the presentation of a symposium on multilingualism and exclusion on the Main Campus of the UFS.  It is hoped that the Routes colloquium will indicate new stages on which can be added to the already successful cooperation in the area of language.

 Prof Du Plessis’s presentation titled “Nederlands, Afrikaans en die Afrikatale – kan samewerking slaag? Die geval MIDP in die Vrystaat”, investigated the successes that have been made with the MIDP.  He discussed two possible approaches to cooperation in the areas of language, that of a sentimentalistic  approach against an instrumentalistic approach. 

Cooperation in the first approach makes language the aim.  In the second approach language is used as a means to a greater aim.  According to Prof du Plessis the first approach is driven by a romantisised idea about the relation between the Flemish and Afrikaans speaking people, which may unfortunately polarise the position of Afrikaans in South Africa even further.

 He argues that, given the time that we are in, the second approach will deliver more constructive results as language can among others be used for to further  democracy in South Africa.   This can happen by cooperation in the institutionalising of multilingualism in our society.  The more languages are used in education, law and government administration, the more we can be assured a successful democracy.

 The Routes colloquium was facilitated by the well-known Flemish radio journalist, Jean-Pierre Rondas. About twenty South African and Flemish language specialists took part in the colloquium.  Dr Fritz Kok, outgoing chief executive officer of the ATKV took part in the opening ceremony and Dr Neville Alexander from the University of Cape Town and well-known activist for multilingualism in South Africa was also one of the main speakers.

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