Browsing: digital payments

• A new alliance between fintechs Network International and Ant International is set to stir up the digital finance ecosystem in Africa and the Middle East.
• Deal will see banks, fintechs, and telcos across the MEA gain access to a cutting-edge digital wallet suite.
• With Alipay+ Wallet Tech, Network aims to offer businesses enhanced experience in digital payments.

The push to enhance financial inclusion and digital wallet offerings in Africa has received a shot in the arm with Network International and Ant International announcing a strategic partnership aimed at revolutionizing mobile wallet technology.

Through this collaboration, banks, fintechs, and telecommunications companies across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region will gain access to cutting-edge digital wallet solutions, bolstering financial inclusion and the digital transformation landscape.

The partnership agreement, signed at a ceremony attended by H.E. Jamal Abdulla AlSuwaidi, the UAE Ambassador to Singapore, marks a new chapter for digital payment expansion …

• Remittances to Kenya dropped by $32.8 million as the economies in the source markets continued to grapple with higher inflation.
• Education, healthcare, and household needs are the main uses of remittances in Kenya, an analysis by WorldRemit indicates.
• The shilling’s exchange rate against the dollar has not been stable in the period under review

Kenyans working and living abroad sent home $32.7 million (KSh4.3 billion) less in June compared to the previous month. Latest monthly data by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) show remittance inflow for the month totaled $371.6 million (KSh48.48 billion), an 8 per cent decline from the previous month when remittance inflow totaled $404.4 million (KSh52.76 billion).

However, compared to the same period last year, the receipts in June were a 7.4 per cent increase compared to the $345.9 million or (Sh45.1 billion) reported during the comparable month in 2023.

“The cumulative inflows for the 12

• Nala Money has Payment Service Provider licenses in several countries, including its founder’s home, Tanzania.
• In 2020, Africa’s e-payments industry, across domestic and cross-border payments, generated approximately $24 billion in revenues, of which about $15 billion was domestic electronic payments.
• Africa’s domestic e-payments market is expected to see revenues grow by approximately 20 per cent per year, reaching around $40 billion by 2025

“Little did I know that if a European-based client of mine could have subscribed to Nala Money, I would have received $100 more to my fee.  Unlike Nala, the money order service I use has a low exchange rate and is somehow unconventional.”

This testament is not a promotion or a boost for the latter but an admission of facts and experiences Tanzanians who might receive remittance often or once could face.

Nala, started by Tanzanian youth Benjamin Fernandes in 2017, aimed to increase economic opportunities for …

• Registered customers for M-Pesa Ethiopia rose to 3.1 million from 1.2 million as of half the Financial Year 2023/2024, transacting worth $115.63 million.
• Ethiopia’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2021–2025 aims to increase financial inclusion from 45 to 70 per cent of all adults by 2025, partly by scaling digital payments through mobile money services.
• The country also aims to increase the use of digital payments from 20 per cent of all adults in 2020 to 49 per cent by 2025.

Revenue growth for M-Pesa Ethiopia

Safaricom’s M-Pesa in Ethiopia reported revenue returns of $277,139.43 over the nine months ending in December 2023.

Following its August 2023 launch, the operations generated $45,000 over the first four months, with further commitment to grow the numbers.

Registered customers for M-Pesa Ethiopia rose to 3.1 million from 1.2 million as of half the Financial Year 2023/2024, transacting worth $115.63 million.

However, the opportunity for …

Digital payment platform iPay has joined forces with Visa, a world leader in digital payments, to introduce Visa’s Tap-to-Phone technology to simplify digital payments for merchants and customers.

Dubbed Tap Ulipe, the solution is integrated into a sleek, portable, internet-enabled MobiGo 2 device, comparable in size to modern smartphones. It offers merchants many solutions beyond traditional payments without investing in clunky POS machines. In addition, merchants can also download the Tap to Ulipe app from the Google Play store on their Near-Field-Communication (NFC) enabled smartphones to accept contactless payments.…

Competition in the remittance space has intensified with the entry of new players as the race for a share of the annual $95.6 billion in cross-border remittances flowing into Africa heats up. Airtel Africa has partnered with MasterCard to unveil a new service for cross-border remittances. Their deal will see customers in Kenya and 14 other African nations become the first beneficiaries of the service.

Airtel Africa and MasterCard will provide a seamless digital experience for consumers, connecting them with millions of peers worldwide. With a mushrooming diaspora community, remittances are now the largest source of forex in many African economies.…

• An infusion of new investments and regulatory transformations is shaping financial interactions and digital payments in Africa.
• Africa’s digital payments operations produced around $24 billion in revenue in 2020, comprising domestic and cross-border payments.
• For Africa’s digital transition to run smoothly, a cohesive environment that ensures investment and funding remains necessary.

Human commerce constantly seeks more efficient exchange mediums, and this innovation is currently intensifying. Consequently, how individuals pay for products and services has changed dramatically in the 21st century. Digital payments in Africa are gradually replacing cash, and cryptocurrencies and virtual currencies have lately emerged as substitutes for conventional money concepts.

Africa has kept up with, and in some instances led, technological advancement. An infusion of new investments and regulatory transformations is shaping financial interactions and digital payments in Africa. Cash remains king in Africa. However, research indicates that its dominance may be challenged in the future years as …

• Kenya’s PesaLink payments ecosystem has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mastercard to create innovative, digital-first payment solutions
• PesaLink will leverage Mastercard’s technology, expertise, partnerships, and cyber intelligence solutions to diversify its payment capability beyond person-to-person payments
• Mastercard will collaborate with PesaLink to expand its services to include a direct-to-consumer digital proposition, agent banking and solutions for business and government payments

Integrated Payment Services Limited (IPSL) which runs the PesaLink payments ecosystem has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mastercard to create innovative, digital-first payment solutions designed to boost the adoption and usage of digital payments and accelerate Kenya’s transition to a cash-lite economy.

Established by the Kenya Bankers Association, the PesaLink ecosystem continues to grow and today, comprises 31 banks in Kenya and several payment service providers, Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) and a telco, enabling over 9.5 million customers to connect to a secure, fast, efficient, …