May 152013 BusinessTech Altech aims to be a more proactive player in the mobile money space through its Altech Eyenza Mobile Money service JSElisted Allied Technologies Limited Altech aims to be a more proactive player in the mobile money space through its Altech Eyenza Mobile Money service which forms part of a four pillar strategy to see the group turn its business around Altech would take on listed ICT firmBlue Label Telecoms and mobile operators who also offer ewallets The Eyenza site is already live with products including prepaid airtime prepaid electricity and prepaid data Future products include prepaid lotto prepaid medical ...[...read more]

May 092013 Jamaica Gleaner Local online startups want the Bank of Jamaica BOJ to move with alacrity and implement mobile money in Jamaica arguing that weak regulation and heavy bureaucracy have continued to hinder the viability of their businesses The appeal came as deputy governor of the BOJ Livingston Morrison addressed a group of entrepreneurs about regulating mobile remittances and even as one participant revealed that he had transferred funds even as the central bank official discussed the issue Whilst you spoke I transferred funds using PayPal the participant told Morrison while looking at his mobile phone in reference to tran...[...read more]

April 302013 eServGlobalannounces it has won a significant US12m strategic framework contractwith a major mobile operator group in the Middle East and North Africa Using eServGlobalrsquos software this operator group will deliver endtoend mobile money services to its subscribers across countries in the Middle East and North Africa The comprehensivesolution encompasses a complete mobile money platform enablingservices such as electronic topup mobile wallets mobile banking online payments salary disbursements peertopeer money transfer micro finance bill paymentpayment at a merchant and airtime recharge Deployment across all affiliates wh...[...read more]

April 192013 MobileNews lsquoMultiCurrencyrsquo to allow payments to be sent and received across borders while lsquoImmediate Paymentsrsquo enables money to be received in a matter of minutes Visa Europe has made two additions to its mobile payments service enabling consumers to make instant transactions from their handset to any Visa cardholder in Europe in any European currency The MultiCurrency feature will be available before the end of the year and will allow for payments to be sent and received across borders Visa said this will simplify what can be a complex and expensive process for those wishing to send money to someone in ...[...read more]

April 172013 Pakistanrsquos premier branchless banking service Easypaisa has launched Khushaal Munafa the first savings product on a branchless banking platform offering monetary returns to its Easypaisa Mobile Account customers The launch of Khushaal Munafa is yet another important step towards the financial inclusion of rural and semiurban Pakistanis many of whom have no choice today but to save their funds in informal savings Khushaal Munafa offers Easypaisa Mobile Account customers a profit of up to 9 on saving Rs 2000 or more in their Mobile Accounts The profit offered by Khushaal Munafa is also unique in the sense that it is calcula...[...read more]

GulfNews April 172013 The UAErsquos prepaid industry is banking on the unbanked as well as the lowincome expatriate population to propel the revenues for preloaded payment cards in the country The growing spending power of the youth which are among the biggest users of prepaid products and the big remittance market are also major growth drivers Industry figures already point to a bullish trend for the sector Estimates show that from 2013 to 2017 the circulation of prepaid cards will increase at a compound annual growth rate CAGR of 11 per cent globally while the Middle East and North African Mena markets will grow faster at 18 p...[...read more]

April 122013 Sap Community Network In subSahara Africa more than80 of people have no access to traditional financial servicesThis has been one of the great challenges in fighting poverty in South Africa Given the lack of developed infrastructure in many parts of Africa how is it possible to provide millions of unbanked people with basic banking services Standard Bank of South Africahas found the answer Standard Bank discovered that one of the biggest impediments to opening a new account for many of these people was their lack of ability to provide proof of residence However at the same time Standard Bank also found that a large per...[...read more]

April 122013 Banglanews24 International Finance Corporation IFC a member of the World Bank Group has made an equity investment in bKash Limited Headquartered in Washington DC IFC is a financial institution which offers investment advisory and asset management services to encourage private sector development in developing countries Both parties signed an agreement in this regard in the capital recently Country Manager of IFC Kyle F Kelhofer and Head of Finance and Accounts of bKash Moinuddin Mohammed Rahgir signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations Chairman of bKash and Managing Director of BRAC Enterpri...[...read more]