Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
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

Johann swims his way to Olympics
2016-05-18


Johann van Heerden from the University of the Free State has qualified for the Paralympic Games in the swimming pool, and is now waiting to hear if he will be included in the South African team. Photo: Nadya van Heerden.

In the past couple of months, Johann van Heerden has been swimming his way to the Paralympic Games, and is still preparing as if he will be going to Rio de Janeiro.

The Kovsie swimmer, who will know whether he has been included in the Paralympic team in July 2016, feels his training is progressing well. The Olympics will be held in Brazil from 7 to 18 September 2016. If all goes well, this could be the first of several Olympics for the 20-year-old second-year Education student from the University of the Free State (UFS).

Dream year for Education student

Van Heerden (cerebral palsy), whose hero is the former Paralympic superstar Natalie du Toit, has had huge successes in the run-up to the 2016 Olympics. Among others, he was named the best senior swimmer at the Nedbank National Championships for the Physically Disabled in Bloemfontein in March 2016. At the South African Senior Championships in Durban in April 2016, he qualified for the Olympics in the 100 m breast-stroke with an A-qualifying time, and in the 50 m and 100 m freestyle with B-qualifying times.

Only three male swimmers to Olympics

However, he has to wait until the announcement of the South African Paralympic team, since only three male and three female swimmers will be selected. He will not be competing in another major event before the Olympics. “My short-term goal is to compete in this year’s Games, and, in the long term, I would like to reach even greater heights at the 2020 Games,” he said. Du Toit is an inspiration to him because “she was hard-working, and she had a lot of drive”.

Other students from CUADS also excel

At the above-mentioned National Championships, Van Heerden won a total of five gold medals (200 m medley, 100 m breaststroke, 50 m freestyle, 50 m breaststroke, and 200 m breaststroke) and one silver medal (100 m freestyle). Other students from the Center for Universal Access and Disability Support at the UFS also excelled.

Dineo Mokhosoa (cerebral palsy) won three gold medals (long jump, shot-put, and discus), while the athlete Louzanne Coetzee (blind) shattered the world record in the 5 000 m, as well as the Africa record in the 1 500 m. Juanré Jenkinson (cerebral palsy) won two silver medals (discus and shot-put) while Danie Breitenbach (blind) won two gold medals (800 m and 1500 m).

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept