Mobile Money Africa

Some US$ 16 million will be rewarded to institutions that can set up mobile banking services in Haiti.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledged US$ 10 million and the United States
Agency for International Development (USAID) will add another US$ 5 million to coax telecommunications and finance companies to set up mobile phone banking services for Haiti’s poor.

“After the earthquake on 12 January, we saw huge demand from Haitians who needed to receive money from family and aid organizations, but we also saw a severe reduction in the capacity of the banking system to get the cash into their hands,” Amolo Ng’weno of the foundation’s Financial Services for the Poor unit, said.

The powerful quake in Haiti killed up to 300,000 people and knocked out a third of banks, automated teller machines (ATMs) and money transfer outlets.

The multimillion-dollar pledge will offer cash incentives to companies that set up mobile financial services in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas.

The first company to launch a mobile money service that reaches certain benchmarks within six months will receive US$ 2.5 million, and the second operator to launch and reach the same targets within 12 months will receive $1.5 million.

The remaining $6 million will be awarded as the first five million transactions take place.

The US$ 5-million USAID pledge will actually be in the form of technical and management assistance.

Phone service providers, banks and technology companies can bid to provide mobile banking services in Haiti-and compete for the Gates Foundation incentives-provided they have “a track record of commitment to the country that goes beyond the emergency period and a strong likelihood of success,” foundation officials said.

For the program to work, it must get off the ground rapidly and be deployed on a very large scale.

The Gates Foundation hopes at least one company will provide mobile banking services-also known as M-banking-in Haiti within a year and that five million mobile phone transactions will take place on the island nation within two years.

Around 40 percent of Haiti’s nine-million population have mobile phones, and those who don’t usually have access to one through a friend or relative.

Foundation officials hope that mobile phone financial services will enjoy the same success in Haiti as Kenya’s M-PESA mobile money service, used by nine million Kenyans just three years after its launch.

Anyone who can receive a mobile phone text message can receive money by M-PESA, and then merely have to go to the retail outlets of the mobile phone service provider that runs the M-banking program, or to a gas station, supermarket or local shop, to withdraw their cash.

M-PESA has caught on so dramatically in Kenya that everything from taxi fares to school fees is paid by mobile phone, according to the Gates Foundation.

In Haiti, the foundation hopes M-banking won’t only help people get much-needed cash but also stimulate local economies because “people who receive money on their phones, in their communities, are more likely to spend it there,” Ng’weno said.

txtNation

txtNation and Failsafe Payments Certo Payment Gateway are proud to announce a partnership today that adds additional 70 new markets for Certo Payment Gateways online mobile Billing coverage through a new partnership with Telco Mobile billing provider txtNation’s award winning JunglePay service.

This new partnership enables customers in a total of over 70 markets to purchase the digital products they want and pay for them through their local mobile phone provider account. Over 200 individual providers Mobile Network Operators can now be used to clear web payments are now live on Failsafe Payments platform.

Both Merchants and Merchant Service Providers (MSP`s) worldwide can now enjoy a true one stop integration platform to access all integrated Certo Payment Gateway`s partners and services.

According to a 2008 study by Javelin Strategy and Research, over 75% of decisive consumers would prefer to add small online purchases to their existing telephone, broadband or mobile bills as an alternative to using credit or debit cards.

Michael Whelan, txtNation of txtNation adds, “Failsafe Payments adds a whole new dimension to txtNation’s, JunglePay service. By interfacing JunglePay to Failsafe Payments Certo Payment Gateway, we bring out a large network of mobile operators to bear across Certo Payment Gateway`s fantastic brand.”

“Integrating txtNation`s JunglePay further enhances the big value of using our Certo Payment Gateway for multiple banks, alternative payment methods, fraud scrubbing 3-D Secure and much more all integrated into one single platform.” says Patrick Sallnert, Chief Operating Officer for Failsafe Payments EU.

“We are continuing to integrate Mobile Billing providers to offer the Merchants and MSP`s worldwide that uses Certo Payment Gateway a simple technical solution and excellent coverage when enable Mobile Billing services for their customers.” says John R. Williams, Sr., President for Failsafe Payments North America.

Using a customisable interface, and extremely easy installation with the Certo Payment Gateway, JunglePay is a first-class billing application that also offers a comprehensive API so you can create your own unique billing platform.

This partnership between Failsafe Payments and txtNation bridges internet commerce to familiar mobile billing mechanisms, to enable merchants and MSP`s to increase sales by allowing customers to pay through their mobile phone accounts- pre-paid or post-paid.

About Failsafe Payments

Failsafe Payments is a Merchant Service Provider (MSP) based in Nicosia, Cyprus and Cleveland, Ohio and established in 2007 by a very experienced team within local and international e-payments.

About Certo Payment Gateway

Certo Payment Gateway are integrated into multiple local and international payment brands, payment options, banks, MSP`s, alternative payments, shopping carts, order systems, 3DSecure and 3rd party services such as advanced fraud scrubbing and loyalty programs and can be used by both Merchants and MSP`s.

About txtNation

txtNation is an award-winning solutions provider across billing, content and mobile messaging platforms.

JunglePay is a straightforward application developed by txtNation, for charging your customers online. Offering three payment options in the form of Premium SMS, phone billing and credit card, there is always a way to pay.

Based on txtNation’s mature mobile payment platform, JunglePay is a robust, secure way to charge your customers. Whether you want to charge for access to your membership area, points in an online game, or in many other online scenarios, JunglePay can help merchants.

txtNation’s global reach means we can facilitate mobile messaging services and products across North America, Europe, Australia and Africa. txtNation have developed strong partnerships with many major industry leaders to ensure our solutions are compatible, well-connected and secure.

New solution can connect to users on mobile operators or web sites for large-scale implementation of mobile financial services and can adjust to extremes of network traffic.

Accenture has announced a new secure, high-speed, high-volume mobile financial transaction software solution for telecommunications service providers and large banks. The mobile money management solution allows firms to reach customers through existing mobile operator networks, web and Internet channels and mobile devices, regardless of the device their customers prefer to use.

It also allows customers to conduct traditional banking transactions, automatically adjusts to fluctuations in network traffic, such as sudden peaks of traffic at the beginning of a business day, and can facilitate thousands of simultaneous transactions. Since it uses “cloud-like” technology, the solution can be launched quickly and economically and scales easily. Customers can be segmented by brand, product or language. The solution is now available worldwide, and is a key element in Accenture’s focus on mobility services.

“Mobile operators and banks are facing increasing pressure to provide mobile money services on mobile phones to all users,” said Andy Zimmerman, global managing director of Mobility Services at Accenture. “If they do not provide these services they risk losing subscribers and being eliminated from the payment process. Accenture’s communications industry experience uniquely positions us to support businesses that want to get into the kind of high-volume mobile money applications that can contribute significantly to their customer service and help generate new revenue streams.”

The mobile money management solution makes it possible to process micropayments in real time, which helps companies take advantage of new business models, while potentially opening new streams of revenue. Micropayments are used to process small transaction amounts that would otherwise severely limit profit, or even cost more than the actual product if processed as traditional card transactions.

This type of payment is typically used by Internet merchants who sell content – or other intangible goods – that cost between a few cents and a few dollars each, such as music, pay-per-play games, newspapers, articles, reports, small computer programs, tickets and postcards.

The mobile money management solution incorporates the Fundamo Enterprise Mobile Financial Services (EMFS) platform and combines it with Accenture’s Service Delivery Platform (SDP). Mobile money management is available from Accenture Mobility Operated Services, an Accenture business unit which provides services for mobile operators, financial institutions and large retailers to help enable new, revenue-generating services delivered through mobile channels, such as ticketing, loyalty, mobile marketing and mobile money.

Fundamo is the world’s largest specialist mobile financial services provider. Fundamo’s EMFS platform is powered by technology that already delivers secure mobile financial services to consumers around the globe.

“Mobile money management is about businesses facilitating financial services,” said Zimmerman. “Because it involves elements such as financial regulations, as well as customers’ money, and personal details, mobile money must meet extremely high standards in terms of performance and security.

“By installing the Fundamo solution onto our industry-leading SDP, Accenture helps provide businesses with an industry-tested way to deliver reliable, secure, mobile services to their diverse customer segments. This is an important advancement for the mobile financial services industry.”

Accenture is offering the mobile money management solution as a non-branded, “white label” capability, which allows businesses to retain their brand with their customers. The solution is offered under a transaction-based pricing model, which means businesses pay only for the number of customers who use the capability.

Accenture offers mobile money management as a managed service, hosted at Accenture data centers around the world. As a result, businesses do not have to invest in additional infrastructure, which reduces start-up costs.

“In the wake of the financial crisis, mobile finance has become a critical frontier for bank industry growth,” said Noel Gordon, global managing director of Accenture’s banking practice. “Consumers are looking for more convenience, simplicity and manageability in their financial lives. The banks that will win customer loyalty will be those with the technologies needed to deliver world-class financial services over mobile devices.”

Emmanuel Okoegwale
Principal consultant at MobileMoneyAfrica

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the conditions that surround him. The unreasonable man adapts surrounding conditions to himself. All progress depends on the unreasonable man.” – Bernard Shaw.

Last week, I participated in the mobile money event in Dubai as the workshop leader with top level management participation from leading Financial institutions, Mobile network operators, solutions provider and interested groups from all over the world. The event went well and post event briefings had more people from the Gulf States wanting to know more about mobile money and payments developments in Africa.

Many were curious to know more and understand how an underdeveloped continent like Africa can be in the fore front of such innovation and shaping the future of what should actually be in the domain of developed economies. One of my new friends actually asked me in confidence to confirm if it is a media hype of sorts.

I shared my little experiences in the mobile money space in Africa and how it is changing the face of commerce and Business from Algeria to Zimbabwe and all these brought further questions of how the UAE can benefit from such innovation and financial inclusion to many that are still left behind from formal financial services.

My humble views are, Africa was able to achieve all these in the little space of time because there is a strong compelling need for mobile financial services. It may not have solved all the financial needs of the masses but for the first time, many are having access and conveniently engaging in payment, remittances, utilities payments and trading, using what they always have with them, the mobile phone. Faced with the challenges of limited Bank branch infrastructure, card processing firms and internet, the mobile phone readily became a tool of engagement and it has proved to be a very formidable one till date.

The UAE has all that is needed to make mobile financial services a huge success in the region by understanding the potential drivers in their economy like the remittance market which is fuelled by over 4 million migrant workers, a vibrant tourism sector and regional trading hubs which is an attraction to traders from Africa and Asia.

The African success story can be quickly replicated in the UAE but all they need to do is to become a bit ‘unreasonable’ in their approach, just like Africa and the market will respond to the efforts.

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VoiceCash has announced that Dr. Tariq Habib will become the new CEO of VoiceCash Middle East and Asian operations. Dr. Habib is widely regarded as a pioneer for the digital economy in the Middle East. He has held various senior-management positions at Emirates Telecom Corporation (Etisalat) including CTO/Comtrust and founded several e-commerce and payment provider service companies. While at Etisalat, he also spearheaded the implementation of the UAE’s Federal e-Government program.

Dr Habib will report directly to Michael Kramer, CEO of the VoiceCash Group. “I am delighted that we could bring Dr. Habib aboard. He is the type of heavyweight we need to accelerate our money remittance activities in the Middle East and in Asia” says Michael Kramer. “With his expressive experience as a pioneer of the digital economy in the Middle East, Dr Habib also strengthens the position of VoiceCash as an industry leader in International Mobile Money Transfer.”

Mohamed Belarj the former regional CEO for Middle East will take on a strategic advisory role at the VoiceCash global company. In his new role, he will support both the VoiceCash Bank in Malta and the Middle East operation.

VoiceCash accelerates the internationalization of mobile money transfers
VoiceCash Bank significantly changes how the world banks: VoiceCash connects national closed loop payment services and enables cost-effective and simple mobile money transfer worldwide. In this way VoiceCash Bank provides a true global mobile banking platform for everyone everywhere. The service allows the unbanked, underserved or conventionally banked people to reach a new level of participation in financial services.

Mpesa

The M-PESA Sales Department within New Products Division is responsible for the growth and management of M-PESA sales channels and M-PESA revenues.

To build on the existing team of professionals, the department is now looking to fill the position below.

INTERNATIONAL MONEY TRANSFER (IMT) SALES MANAGER
RF: NP- IMT-SM- MAR 10

Reporting to the Senior Manager – M-PESA Business Development, the job holder will be responsible for recruiting International agents and managing their performance to realize performance objectives and drive achievement of revenue targets.

The job holder’s key responsibilities will be to:

* Develop an IMT recruitment Plan in line with IMT Strategy;
* Prospect for agents and recruit them in line with the required strategy;
* Identify cross functional issues affecting recruitment and address them;
* Monitor targets for IMT agents/countries and align them to the M-PESA revenue target;
* Identify new revenue streams for international transfers;
* Establish working relationships with all agents and countries to ensure excellent client support level:
* Identify awareness campaigns for priority markets;
* Develop awareness campaigns to drive transactions;
* Report on functional activities to various Stakeholders.
The ideal candidate should possess the following skills and competencies:
* Bachelors Degree in Sales and Marketing or a business management discipline;
* 5 years hands on experience in Corporate Sales in a highly competitive commercial environment. Dealing with international money transfers will be an advantage;
* Experience in learning technology, enterprise applications or testing marketplace;
* Good understanding of financial principles, financial ratios and interpretation of standard financial statements;
* Excellent Contract negotiation experience and high rate at successfully closing deals;
* Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to network and establish effective working relationships across the company;
* Self confident individual with strong influencing skills;
* Attention to detail with good organizational, planning, report writing and presentation skills;
* Proactive, confident, energetic with the ability to work under pressure on tight schedules;
* A proven team player with excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
If you meet the requirements and are self driven, proactive, highly innovative and up to the challenge, please send your resume and application letter quoting the job reference number to the address below. All applications must be delivered on or before Friday, 26th March 2010.
The Senior Manager – Talent Acquisition,
Safaricom Limited.
Via email to: hr@safaricom.co.ke

Invitation for Expression of Interest for a Cooperating Partner to Assist in Targeting Households and the Monitoring of a Cash Transfer Programme

WFP is seeking to shortlist non governmental organizations (NGOs) that can carry out development and implementation of a targeting and monitoring strategy for a cash transfer project taking place in Mathare, Kenya.

WFP invites qualified NGO’s, which are duly registered and authorized in accordance with the prevailing laws in Kenya to submit an expression of interest. A request for proposal (RFP) will be
provided to interested bidders.

The tender committee will thereafter identify the best NGOs based on the quality of their proposal /capacity to undertake the tasks as stipulated in the RFP.

WFP wishes to establish a shortlist of NGO’s to carrying out the targeting and regular monitoring of the cash transfer project. Interested NGOs are invited to collect Registration forms at:

Visitors Pavilion, United Nations
UN Gigiri Complex, Nairobi, Kenya

Forms must be collected/requested for not later than 25th March 2010 at 2.00 pm.

The proposal and completed registration forms with all supporting documentation, as requested therein, should be sent to WFP and addressed as follows;

Ref: Expression of Interest – WFP: Targeting and Monitoring of the Cash Transfer Project
The Procurement Officer
UN World Food Programme
UN Gigiri Complex, Block B, Room B223
P.O Box 44482 – 00100
Nairobi Kenya

The documents should be sent by mail, pouch or hand-delivered, so as to reach WFP not later than 2.00 pm, 2nd April 2010. The expression of interest may be followed by an interview, inspection of offices, assessment of capacity and experiences in similar activities.

Queries strictly relating to this invitation should be directed to Arben.Caslli @ wfp.org or Telephone numbers 7622325/7622210.

Please note that this is not an Invitation To Tender. Rates/prices are not required at this stage, and this invitation does not bind the World Food Programme to issue any tenders or contracts to the NGO’s expressing their interest.

Globe Telecom, through its wholly owned mobile commerce subsidiary G-Xchange Inc. (GXI), is partnering with BOKU, Inc., a global leader in mobile payments.

The deal opens BOKU’s online payment service to Globe subscribers who may now use GCASH to make purchases on their favorite international gaming, entertainment and social sites that are part of the growing BOKU global merchant network.

BOKU has more than 1,000 merchant partners and Paymo, its mobile payment brand, covers over 190 carriers in more than 60 countries. Paymo also reaches a potential 1.8 billion customers worldwide.

Paymo makes it fast, easy, and safe to buy virtual and digital items online as it eliminates the need for credit cards and time-wasting registration and check-out forms. On the other hand, GCASH is a mobile wallet that facilitates conversion of cash into electronic money that could be used to pay for various products and services.

A GCASH subscriber, for instance, who wants to buy “Restaurant City Coins” or “Farmville Cash” in Facebook, simply clicks the Paymo button from the payment selection window. The subscriber will be asked to key in his GCASH registered mobile number and GCASH PIN for verification of the transaction. The coins are instantly credited to his Restaurant City or Farmville account.

Rizza Maniego-Eala, GXI President said: “The Philippines is one of the richest markets in the world for mobile payments. Since its inception in 2004, GCASH has been the widely used mobile payment method for online purchases in the Philippines. BOKU’s focus on mobile payments, with its strong Paymo brand linked to very popular online games such as Mafia Wars, Café World and Farmville, makes them the perfect partner in providing GCASH subscribers with a rich new experience in mobile commerce that opens up the opportunity to explore and purchase virtual goods from the vast international market.”

Paul McGuire, co-founder of Paymo said: “This partnership is a perfect meeting of two companies’ visions for the way to pay in the future. This is a great model for mobile payments, enabling carriers to reach global merchants through BOKU’s network, expanding capabilities for online and physical purchases, while driving increased carrier revenues and reducing subscriber churn.”

Penny Crosman

Hosted, pay-per-transaction solution can connect to users on mobile operators or web sites for large-scale implementation of mobile financial services and is said to adjust to extremes of network traffic.

Accenture has announced a high-speed, high-volume mobile financial transaction software solution for telecommunications service providers and large banks. The mobile money management solution allows firms to reach customers through existing mobile operator networks, web and Internet channels and mobile devices, regardless of the device their customers prefer to use.

It also allows customers to conduct traditional banking transactions, adjusts to fluctuations in network traffic, such as sudden peaks of traffic at the beginning of a business day, and can facilitate thousands of simultaneous transactions.

“Mobile operators and banks are facing increasing pressure to provide mobile money services on mobile phones to all users,” said Andy Zimmerman, global managing director of Mobility Services at Accenture, in a statement. “If they do not provide these services, they risk losing subscribers and being eliminated from the payment process.”

The mobile money management solution makes it possible to process micropayments in real time, which helps companies take advantage of new business models, while potentially opening new streams of revenue. Micropayments are used to process small transaction amounts that would otherwise severely limit profit, or even cost more than the actual product if processed as traditional card transactions.

This type of payment is typically used by Internet merchants who sell content ” or other intangible goods ” that cost between a few cents and a few dollars each, such as music, pay-per-play games, newspapers, articles, reports, small computer programs, tickets and postcards.

The mobile money management solution incorporates the Fundamo Enterprise Mobile Financial Services platform and combines it with Accenture’s Service Delivery Platform.

Accenture is white-labeling this product so that banks can brand it themselves. It offers transaction-based pricing, so banks pay only for the number of customers who use the capability. The platform is hosted at Accenture data centers around the world.

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Responding to the needs of current customers and moving proactively to meet their future demands, du recently partnered with several leading Banks and Money Exchanges to extend the convenience of additional locations to pay their du bills. The new partners include seven of the UAE’s most respected and well-established Banks; Al Hilal Bank, Citibank, Dubai Bank, Dunia Finance, First Gulf Bank (FGB), Ras Al Khaimah Bank and Union National Bank (UNB), as well as five of the UAE’s most highly esteemed Money Exchanges; Al Ansari Exchange, Al Fardan Exchange, Al Ghurair Exchange, Leela Megh Exchange and Redha Al Ansari Exchange.

du’s expanded bill-payment network means that over 150 locations are now available for payments in various convenient locations for customers to complete their du transactions – bringing flexibility to customers in the areas where they live, work and shop. The new Banks join an existing network of partner Banks that include Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD), Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), Emirates Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD and Mashreq Bank as also Axiom, fono and One Mobile.
“Constantly giving customers that extra level of convenience is something that du always strives to achieve. Our new partnerships with these highly respected financial institutions bring our customers an enhanced network of convenient bill payment locations across the country,” said Farid Faraidooni, Chief Commercial Officer, du. “By partnering with industry-leading enterprises such as these, we are able to better serve our customers as we build our brand and increase the scope and scale of our services across the country.”

In addition, customers can also make payments at du’s 33 dedicated shops, avail mobile payment option, or via the self care portal on www.du.ae. For extra convenience, customers can also register their credit card at any du shop for automatic payments. Once auto payment has been set up, customers do not need to take any further action: their monthly du bill will be automatically charged to their credit card every month.

du Elite Plan (postpaid) and Pay as you Go ® (prepaid) customers can visit any of du’s new partner Banks to recharge and settle bills for a wide range of fixed and mobile services, including Elite Plan and Monthly Plans, Pay as You Go®, landline, broadband services and du TV packages. Similarly, du postpaid customers can visit any of the new authorised money exchanges to settle any of these bills, and prepaid customers will also be able to recharge their Pay as you Go® line at the outlets soon.

du subscribers will have the opportunity to pay their personal bills, or make payments on behalf of friends and family members at the banks and money exchanges. All transactions will be completed in real-time, and customers will receive a receipt from the authorised du partner as well as an SMS from du confirming their payment.

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