Mobile Money Africa

The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) announced Friday that it would launch next week a comprehensive study on mobile banking in Africa.

The launch will take place at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa as a side-event to the African Union Summit which is being organized this year under the theme, “Information and Communication Technologies in Africa: Challenges and Prospects for Development.”

The new study called “M-Banking, an African Financial Revolution” assesses the status and potential for growth of mobile electronic commerce in Senegal, Kenya and South Africa.

“It examines the wireless technologies deployed as well as their advantages and disadvantages, the growth potential for the mobile telephony sector and rollout plans in the countries surveyed,” according to ECA.

The study analyzes the mobile market with a focus on how the innovation taking place in creating mobile-commerce opportunities opens up new revenue streams especially in rural and remote areas.

One key observation is that reduction of poverty can be enhanced if communication services, including mobile banking, access the rural areas and are affordable to the urban poor.

ECA said that the study responds to concerns regarding the kind of policy requirements needed to sustain efforts in developing the mobile-banking sector and make it a tool for promoting economic development in Africa.

“M-Banking-An African Financial Revolution’’ is published on behalf of the ICT, Science and Technology Division of ECA, the Centre for African Studies-Copenhagen University, in collaboration with International Books.

EVELYN NJOROGE

The Heritage Insurance Company has consolidated its move into the retail segment by widening insurance premium pay options for people who are financially excluded to include the popular money transfer services M-Pesa and Zap.

The Insurance Company on Friday announced the new partnership with the two leading mobile network operators Safaricom and Zain that will see policy holders remit their insurance premiums and claims excess through M-Pesa and Zap services.

“The payment procedure is quick and easy to follow. On both platforms, a customer needs to go to the M-pesa or Zap option on their phones, select “pay bill” and enter business No.503000,” said Heritage Insurance Executive Director Joseph Kyungu.

For the account number, the customer will need to put their “policy/claim” number and then the amount payable.

The maximum amount for each transaction is Sh35,000 he said adding that clients with bigger payments than the set maximum can pay several times in portions of not more that Sh35,000 per transaction.

“We encourage our customers to reconfirm their policy numbers and also the premium payable before making their payments to minimize chances of being inconvenienced,” added Mr Kyungu.’

The new partnership, he said would go a long way in ensuring convenience and timely services to their customers.

“Heritage Insurance boasts a huge client base from different regions of the country and with this solution; our customers can access our services at their convenience. However, Heritage insurance agents, brokers and staff will still be accessible to our customers whenever they need assistance,” the director added.

This partnership comes in the wake of yet another technology driven solution from Heritage Insurance that enables travel agencies to apply for travel insurance online.

Heritage Insurance operates five branches including; Eldoret, Nanyuki, Naivasha, Mombasa and the head office based in Nairobi.

Expanding International Airtime Top-up Service Helps Mobile Operators & MVNO’s Target Consumers With
Close Connections Abroad

Leading mobile money provider Mi-Pay is increasing its strategic partnerships with operators and MVNOs in key remittance corridors in order to support an anticipated rise in demand for international airtime top-ups and transfers in 2010. The company sees easy access to pre-pay airtime – for family and friends abroad – as crucial in driving new revenue streams and boosting customer loyalty for operators targeting multi-cultural traditionally Western ‘sending’ countries or developing ‘recipient’ countries.
With operator partners already in place to support its International Airtime Top-up services in Europe, Africa, India and Latin America, Mi-Pay has secured major new agreements that will potentially double its reach in a matter of months. By the end of 2010, it anticipates that its ‘sending and receiving’ channels will cover 65% of the global population.

Mi-Pay’s International Airtime Top-up is a white labelled and highly “sticky” service that will appeal to those operators looking for a quick-to-market, risk-free way of enabling consumers to top-up their own phones internationally; or those of family and friends overseas, remotely.
Providing new marketing and revenue opportunities, it can help to reduce churn, drive ARPU and boost international brand recognition in both core and expanding markets. It also provides operators and MVNO’s with direct access to the rapidly growing and profitable airtime transfer market that exists within the world’s key remittance corridors.

Norman Frankel CEO of Mi-Pay comments, “New figures from World Bank show that, despite global recession, in 2009 the international remittance market to developing countries is set to come in at around $317 billion dollars. This reflects the huge desire for individuals to continue to aid family and friends living abroad even in the face of current financial pressures.”

“We believe that informal remittance channels such as International Airtime Top-up – where users can buy mobile phone airtime for contacts living in another country – may well help to boost remittance values to regions where mobile phone access is vital. By offering the ability to provide regular low value financial assistance – it creates new opportunities for those wishing to send support to their loved ones abroad and innovative new campaign and marketing platforms for the operators involved.”

Mi-Pay handles all aspect of service delivery, transaction handling and process support. Its International Airtime Top-up interface can be fully client branded offering a seamless look and feel to the operators/MVNOs other services. The service can be accessed via Web, SMS, or via a network of point of sale terminals in a retail environment. Consumers can choose to either make single top-ups or create regular top-ups; to keep one or more remote handsets recharged each week, month or quarter. The system supports payments by cash, card or bank in the sender’s local currency.

Mobile operators and MVNOs interested in introducing an International Airtime Top-up sending service or creating a recipient channel with M-Pay should call +44(0) 207 11 22 121 or email: info@mi-pay.com with their contact details.

About Mi-Pay
Mi-Pay the leading mobile money company, provides an innovative range of multi-channel ‘white label’ and outsourced, international and domestic airtime top-up and mobile remittance services. Enabling consumers to perform secure financial transactions via their mobile phones and online portals, Mi-Pay helps mobile operators, MVNOs and financial service providers to drive new revenue streams and boost ARPU. Based in the UK, Mi-Pay also has offices in Dubai, Romania, India and Pakistan, bringing a truly international perspective to its partners. Mi-Pay has vast expertise and service offerings that span pre-pay top-ups, mobile initiated payments, mobile banking, mobile money transfer, handset based authentication and consultancy. In November 2009, Mi-Pay received the Award for the “Most Innovative Company in Money Transfers” from the International Association of Money Transfers (IAMTN). For more information visit: www.mi-pay.com

MTN Rwanda has made a soft launch of the Mobile Money service transfer, being the first operator to introduce the service in the country.

Yvonne Manzi Makolo the company’s Senior Marketing Executive said that clients are already using the service and that the commercial launch is set for next week.

Makolo said that the service is available to every MTN subscriber.

“The service will help our subscribers to send money to anyone in Rwanda, withdraw cash at any authorised MTN Mobile Money agent and also buy MTN airtime anytime,” Makolo stated.

To activate for the service, a customer has to visit any MTN Service Centre or authorised MTN Mobile Money agent.

“For the upgraded service, a client has to visit one of our agents for a SIM card that is Mobile Money enabled with a present original and a photocopy of your ID or your passport for the agent to do a full registration process,” Makolo explained.

She also revealed that with the introduction of the service, it will help the operator to increase of its subscriber base.

Micro Finance Institutions (MFI) have said that agency banking will not cripple their industry but will strengthen it if proper regulations are put in place.

Speaking while receiving Sh9.6 million sponsorship for the Africa-Middle East Micro Finance Summit to be held in April from software company Craft Silicon, Lydia Koros of the Association of Micro Credit Institutions in Kenya said the new branchless banking regulation would increase the number of the unbanked population in the rural areas.

“The industry right now is thinking of going into branchless banking, because that is the only way to reach the poorest of the poor in the villages in the country. Many micro finance institutions are now able to get into the heart of the slum area without requiring to have a branch, just through a point of sale device,” she said.

Craft Silicon CEO Kamal Budhabhatti said the micro finance sector would help alleviate poverty.

“In conjunction with the Vision 2030 that the government has, I think it is very important to play this role in poverty alleviation that the micro finance sector does by giving out the loans to the poor people which helps them to grow and at the end of the day helps the growth of the country and achieve Vision 2030.”

Budhabhatti said that Craft Silicon is increasingly sensitive to the needs of the MFI industry and is on the edge of providing appropriate innovative technologies for the country.

The 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Muhammad Yunus is expected to be the chief guest during the summit. The summit will offer opportunities to micro credit practitioners to demonstrate through a series of events that microfinance has the capacity to reach the poor and provide a solution to alleviate poverty.

The Finance Act 2009 became operational at the beginning of January, and an amendment was made to the Banking Act to enable use of third party agents by banks.

Banks will therefore be able to leverage on additional cost effective distribution channels to offer financial services.

The National Financial Access Survey of 2009 shows that 32 percent of Kenya’s bankable population remains totally outside the orbit of financial services and many more being served by the informal financial system.

Hundreds of Zain Telecommunications and Zenith Bank workers, as well as subscribers and customers, on Saturday 23rd January 2010, held a thrilling float parade along the major streets of Freetown.The march pass commenced from the far east and ended at the west end of the capital city.

The procession held to celebrate the companies’ new ‘Zap’ product was aimed at sensitizing the general populace about the mobile baking service launched by Zain and Zenith Bank.

Zain’s Public Relations Executive, June Rose-Johnson said, during the session, that the parade was very essential in the spreading of Zap’s message to its numerous subscribers across the city.”We want to take our value added products to the doorsteps of our valued subscribers, thus the parade,” she pointed out in an ecstatic mood.

According to June Rose-Johnson, the newly launched mobile banking service is a new innovation for all Zain subscribers to enjoy the company’s ‘wonderful world’.Several subscribers interviewed lauded the two companies for making life easy for the citizenry through their numerous products.

“Zain and Zenith deserve praises as I can now send and receive money through my phone,” one Alimamy Thoronka said.Another subscriber commented that the new service will enhance long life, prosperity and excitement for subscribers.

Zap Mobile-Commerce will enable customers to access their money faster and more conveniently. The service helps customers to pay bills and pay for goods and services at all times. They will also receive and send money to friends and loved ones.All Zain subscribers can sign up for free for the services by completing an application form with all Zain agents in villages, towns and cities, where Zain operates.

Justus Lyatuu

Warid Telecom will this year unveil its mobile phone money transfer service in Uganda.

Mr George Shine, Warid Telecom’s head of marketing, said work on the service is in its final stages.

“We have evaluated this venture [mobile money services] and we are ready to take it on this year. We have set aside the resources and we have the technical team ready. What is remaining is getting the licences,” Mr Shine told journalists in Kampala on Monday although he could not readily disclose the amount of money injected in the venture.

Warid’s entry will bring to three the number of mobile money service providers in the country after MTN’s Mobile Money and Zain’s Zap money transfer services, which were unveiled last year.

Like any other telecommunication company in East Africa, competition is the greatest asset that is driving the industry and this has led to innovation and creativity.
Warid Telecom currently has a customer base of two million subscribers, according Mr Danish Hussain, the chief technical officer.

It’s entry into the mobile money industry is likely to push competition in the telecom industry a notch higher as it competes for a share of the money transfer market.

In a related development, Warid Telecom has opened up a new customer service centre in a bid to serve its customers more efficiently.

“Our Jinja Road branch serves roughly 650 people per day and we want to reduce the pressure on our workers and our customer’s time of waiting. This new branch is expected to handle up-to 200 customers per day,” Mr Hussain said at the opening of the Clement Hill Road-based branch on Monday.

The project is anticipated to start operation immediately.
Essar Group recently acquired a 51 per cent equity for about $160 million, in Dhabi Group’s Warid Telecom operations in Uganda and Congo.

The combined value of Warid Uganda and Congo is estimated to be $318 million.

One of the leading and safe money transfer systems in Sierra Leone, Splash Money Transfer, has revealed plans of risking the cash sum of five million Leones to be raffled for by Splash.

Splash Money transfer on Thursday 21st January 2010 unveiled for its customers a new promotion code named “SPLASH FOR CASH”.

Splash for Cash is a unique and new promotion designed by Splash for users of Sierra Leone’s pioneering cross-operator mobile money service.

The promotion will last from 18th January to 31st March 2010. Every two weeks, Splash awards one lucky winner with the sum of Le1, 000,000 (One Million Leones) and the winners are selected at random from customers who have made at least one Splash transaction in the last fourteen (14) days.

Customers who use the service between 18th and 31st January will be eligible for a draw to be held on the 1st February 2010.

In the second draw, customers who use the service between 1st and 14th February 2010 are eligible for a draw to be held on the 15th of February 2010, while in the third draw customers who use the service between 15th and 28th February are eligible for the draw to be held on 1st March.

For the fourth draw, customers who use the service between 1st and 14th March 2010 are eligible for the 15th March to be followed by the fifth draw in which customers who use the service between 15th and 29th March will be eligible for the draw on 30th March 2010.

Interview with Sibyl Lindsay
XIPWIRE
VP of Sales and Marketing
www.xipwire.com

MMA: Share XIPWIRE’s background?

XIPWIRE was founded by Sharif Alexandre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Sharif has been in the IT world for 15 years working for companies such as MTV, Sprint and Lockheed Martin. Watching the rest of the world embrace mobile payments Sharif decided that he wanted to bring the technology to his home city of Philadelphia.

MMA: Congratulations on the launch of XIPWIRE, Please share with Africans what influenced your decisions to launch a mobile payment platform.

Mobile payments are common place around the world except in the United States. For as much as American’s depend on their phones it is surprising we have not been earlier adopters of the technology. XIPWIRE feels the technology is at a tipping point in the United States and Americans are finally ready to have their phones be both their communication life line and their wallet.
At XIPWIRE we also recognize that too many Americans are un- or underbanked. We wanted to create a service that provided everyone easy and convenient access to their money without the penalty of high fees.
XIPWIRE wants to support its community of small business owners and non-profits by offering them the lowest fee per transaction available. Consumers do not understand the impact credit card fees have on a business. Our goal is to help organizations keep their money where it belongs…in their pockets.

MMA:XIPWIRE is a combo of mobile and online, what are the core advantage of each channel using XIPWIRE?

XIPWIRE is all about convenient access to your money. Whether a XIPWIRE user is in front of a computer or is on the go with their mobile phone their money is at their finger tips.
With their mobile phone a XIPWIRE user can initiate a payment and receive cash from anywhere at any time. With time being a luxury these days XIPWIRE users have the ability to manage their money when it suits their schedule.
XIPWIRE.com offers users the ability to send and receive money but in a more content rich experience. With complete access to their XIPWIRE account users can review their transaction history, manage various accounts and transfer funds in and out of their XIPWIRE Wallet.
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MMA: Simple and secured SMS seems to be the application of choice for most successful MMT projects in Africa. Is it same reason here?

XIPWIRE operates with a SMS code because it is universal protocol that can be securely used on almost any mobile phone. Text messages also offer a more resilient safeguard against network disruptions. Even if the mobile providers system is down the technology will keep trying to send the message on your behalf until it is successful. Another reason why receiving and sending money via text message is a natural choice because it requires no software and no training to use.

MMA:Millions of Africans are actively unbanked, how will your technology help them access formal financial services?

While XIPWIRE is not a bank it can enable access to an electronic financial infastructure. A XIPWIRE user is able to receive electronic paychecks, pay bills, send and receive money to family and friends and pay for goods and services both on-line and in their community.
XIPWIRE also allows merchants to offer XIPXCHANGE services. (XIPXCHANGE is a revenue generating opportunity for merchant to fund XIPWIRE accounts.)

MMA:Mobile operators seems to be more aggressive in the MMT space in Africa, are you open to work with them or the financial institutions?

XIPWIRE was designed to work with mobile operators as well as financial institutions. We are particularly interested in working with financial intuitions to mobile enable the accounts of their existing customers. This includes everything from doing a simple balance check to both person-to-person (P2P) and consumer to business (C2B) transactions.

MMA:Educate us on devices that can use the service?

XIPWIRE is not limited to any mobile provider and can work with any mobile phone that can send and receive text messages. Smart Phones that have Internet connectivity will have access to more advanced features of XIPWIRE through its on-line portal.

MMA:Security?

When it comes to security, our philosophy is to use a layered approach to guard against both unauthorized access and potential fraudulent activity. Each layer applies a combination of industry best practices, industrial strength encryption and sophisticated software to ultimately create a series of “firewalls” that protect the integrity and privacy of your data.
More details on out security can be found at: https://xipwire.com/security
The Anonymous XIP ID feature is for XIPWIRE users that would like to make purchases but do not want to give out their XIP ID or mobile number. XIPWIRE users can text: “ID” to 56624 (XIPWIRE’s mobile number) and they will instantly get a temporary code that is good for 15 minutes and only one purchase.
XIPWIRE users can also increase the limit of their XIPWIRE wallets by uploading a security photo that can be reviewed by the merchant during a transaction. At XIPWIRE we focus on protecting both the user and our XIPWIRE merchants.

MMA:Plans for Africa in future and what should Africans expects?

We would like to work with the current providers and financial institutions to expand the reach of mobile financial services to all Africans.

www.xipwire.com

Ese Awhotu

A former staff of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Adviser to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the development and implementation of the Microfinance Certification Program in the country, Peter van Dijk, has revealed that 60 per cent of Nigerians are under banked.

Dijk, who made this disclosure in his paper “Inclusive Finance and Savings Mobilisation” presented at the 4th Annual Microfinance Conference and Entrepreneurship Awards at the weekend in Abuja advised the Nigerian government to use all the technology and knowledge it has to address the situation and reduce poverty among its citizens.

He said Nigeria has the best and most important precondition to build a sustainable and inclusive financial sector.

The country, Dijk added, has many people who are economically active with an economy of scale needed for an improvement outreach but government is yet to integrate this huge potential into building an inclusive financial sector.

“Nigeria has the resources financially and non financially to make a change” he observed, adding that “You now have to take it into you own hands: integrate the huge potential you have with around 60 per cent of your population still being un-under banked, use all the technology and knowledge you have and build an inclusive financial sector which will help to reduce the poverty among your citizens”.

Dijk called on the highest executive level of government and in particular, the Federal Ministry of Finance to rapidly make the National Microfinance Policy a coherent document in the sense of the inclusive definition of microfinance and integrate it into the national financial sector development strategy FSS2020.