NIGERIA: Softcom introduces mobile banking with phone numbers

Ife Ogunfuwa

 Softcom has announced the launch of a payment innovation that leverages the phone numbers of Nigerians to provide financial services.

The solution called ‘Eyowo’ will revolutionise how people send, spend, save, receive and borrow money, Eyowo Chief Executive Officer, Tomi Amao, said at a press conference in Lagos.

According to him, the banking solution aims to provide simple, modern and reliable financial services to consumers, retailers, developers and businesses with a phone number.

“Eyowo was created in an attempt to solve the financial inclusion problem in Nigeria. Today, we are launching a bank for all,”Eyowo Chief Executive Officer, Tomi Amao said.

“Our target market is everyone who has a payment need and has a phone number. This includes people and businesses who want to make or receive payments for goods and services online and offline,”Amao added.

Amao added that individuals could also save and earn interest, borrow money at zero interest and have access to dollar cards to carry out international transactions.

“We’ve engineered products that are truly accessible to everyone regardless of the social status they belong to. Eyowo is available on Android, iOS, USSD, Voice, SMS and on the web,”  Eyowo Product and Partnerships Lead, Ope Adeyemi, said.

Adeyemi described Eyowo Retail as a  service which uses just one tool to manage orders, payments, inventory, customers, settlements and reports, thus helping retailers organise their business more efficiently for optimal growth.

“Businesses can also now accept more forms of payment – cash, card, bank transfers, and Eyowo. “This will significantly expand the customer base and horizon for Internet-enabled businesses who today can only receive payments from bank account holders.”, Adeyemi said.

To deliver on its promise, Amao explained that the company had partnered with leading financial service institutions including Providus Bank, GTBank, Interswitch, NIBSS, Bank of Industry, Verve, amongst others.

He added that a developer platform that enabled developers to build payment products, tools, and experiences that people love by exploring Eyowo Developer API documentation, SDKs and other resources, had been created.

SOURCE: PUNCH NEW