ITREALMS ONLINE: Mobile Money is innovative – Goschen

ITREALMS ONLINE: Mobile Money is innovative – Goschen: The chief executive officer, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Brett Goschen, has described mobile money as innovative, easy to use, convenient and ver...

MOBILE MONEY: Fortis Mobile Money promises user-friendly

Fortis mobile money is one of the Licensed mobile money operators in Nigeria, they're in agreement with all micro-finance banks in Lagos and they're promising to create a user friendly and easy to use platform for their mobile money services.


culled from: itrealms.com.ng

" The Chief executive officer, Fortis Mobile Money, Mr. Henry Nwawuba has described the recent partnership with MTN and GTBank as significant achievement, promising a user friendly platform.
Fortis Mobile Money, one of the 11 mobile money operators licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), recently said that MTN would therefore be connecting Fortis to its over 40 million mobile telephone subscribers on the network.

Describing the partnership with MTN as a very significant achievement, he said that every mobile money company in Nigeria looks ahead to the kind of access MTN provides.
"What we have achieved today is that MTN is opening up its network infrastructure to Fortis and as such it gives us the kind of access that will make the experience very user friendly for all our customers" he said.

He explained that MTN has provided Fortis Mobile Money an unrestricted access on its network to unstructured supplementary service data (USSD), which is a messaging function in GSM cell phones. According to him, unlike regular text messages, USSD messages travel over GSM signaling channels and are used to query information and trigger services.

"We are asking the company to open up their distribution channels so that their airtime distribution partners can also become agent for mobile money," he said.
The collaboration, he said, would also give MTN access to tap into over 40 million customers as Fortis Mobile Money roll out its service.
To cope with this capacity, he said, Fortis would have to build a robust business network, though it currently plans to deploy over 50,000 agents across Nigeria in one year.
Having launched the service in Lagos, he said the company's mobile money service would rapidly take off in other cities and states in Nigeria. "That is because without the agent network, mobile money will not work. In Lagos, we have about 420 agents. In Abuja, we have about 1000 while in Port Harcourt we have activated 200 agents", he said.

Explaining the services that are available to Nigerians on the network, the managing director of Fortis said the company would provide basic mobile financial services such as fund transfer, deposit and withdrawal from the bank account, which can be done at an agent location in the community. Before a customer can access to these services, such a customer must have opened a mobile account.

"Once that account is opened, it becomes your wallet. Do not leave home without your mobile phone. There is cash on it. The account is not physically sitting in your phone. Your phone is just an access device just like your ATM card.  When you take your ATM card to the ATM the money is not in your ATM card. Over 40 million MTN subscribers can open cash-lite account on Fortis Mobile Money by dialing *555*", he said".

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African Banks Turn to IBM to Support New Wave of Innovation in Banking Services(mobile money)

IBM signs agreements with leading Kenyan banks as financial institutions across Africa invest in smarter banking solutions

culled from: marketwatch.com

Over the last six months IBM has signed contracts with five of Kenya's leading banks: Credit Bank, Co-operative Bank, Family Bank, National Bank of Kenya and National Industrial Credit (NIC) Bank. The agreements are amongst more than 20 similar deals that IBM has signed with banks across Africa in 2011 in line with the rapid growth of the financial services sector and as technology enables a wave of innovation in African banking. IBM is also working with Africa's leading telco companies to help provide financial services based on increasingly widespread mobile devices. For example, through its partnership with Vodafone, IBM is helping Safaricom to provide its M-PESA mobile money service to over 15 million customers in East Africa.

"Africa is currently experiencing strong uptake in banking services in line with the growth of the continent's middle class and the adoption of mobile and internet banking," said Anthony Mwai, County General Manager, IBM East Africa. "Advanced technologies are helping to drive a wave of innovation across the African financial services sector as banks create new and accessible banking channels and take banking services to previously unbanked parts of society."

According to analysts, Africa's financial services sector is currently worth over $100 billion and will continue to grow by double digits to 2020, outpacing Africa's gross domestic product growth. Retail banking is currently the fastest growing segment predicted to grow at 18 per cent between 2009 and 2020 through increased demand for deposit accounts and the launch of sophisticated banking services.*

Smarter Banking

In two of the largest IT deals in the East African banking sector to date, the Co-operative Bank of Kenya and the National Bank of Kenya have signed multi-million dollar agreements with IBM to support their aggressive expansion strategies and increase profitability.

IBM supplied Co-operative Bank with Power Systems as well as storage and software as part of a major overhaul of the bank's systems.

"Our strength lies in the transformative influence we have had in the lives of over nine million Kenyans who depend on the co-operative movement for banking services. Our investment in IT has helped us to achieve our goal of launching a diverse array of innovative, new banking services and reach new parts of society," said Gideon Muriuki, Co-operative Bank's Managing Director.

In its agreement with the National Bank of Kenya, IBM is providing IT services, hardware and software as the bank delivers on its program of business transformation.

"As we continue our transformation into a privately-owned company, we are constantly seeking the means to make us leaner and more efficient," said Reuben Marambii, Managing Director of the National Bank of Kenya. "With advanced technologies and virtualization tools, IBM is helping us to optimize our resources and provide a wider range of services to our rapidly growing client base."

Market Expansion

Family Bank, one of Kenya's fastest growing financial institutions, and IBM signed an agreement to support the bank's drive to reach new markets and launch new products and services.

The bank's regional expansion plan, alongside its introduction of new services such as mobile banking and mortgage facilities, has led the firm to transform its IT systems ahead of a planned listing on the Nairobi Stock Exchange in 2012.

IBM has also signed agreements with Credit Bank and National Industrial Credit (NIC) Bank as locally owned banks across Africa leverage world-class technologies to transform their businesses.

Credit Bank has turned to IBM for a new core banking system to allow it to rethink business processes and improve operational efficiency. Under the terms of the agreement, IBM will provide hardware, software as well as consultancy and services for the implementation, integration and maintenance of the new system.

In line with its continued growth in the region, National Industrial Credit (NIC) Bank selected IBM technologies to help streamline the bank's core banking processes and integrate its existing IT solutions to drive operational efficiencies and improve customer service.

IBM's Momentum in Africa

IBM is actively expanding its operations across Africa as part of the company's continued geographic expansion initiative to increase its presence in key growth markets and support its global growth strategy. Over the last year, IBM has closed a number of pivotal deals in the region as clients in the financial, government, telecommunications, oil and gas sectors seek solutions to help them optimize their operational costs and support business expansion. Earlier this year, IBM announced details of other major banking deals with the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia and the National Microfinance Bank of Tanzania.

"Internet and mobile connectivity has become both more plentiful and a great deal cheaper over the last five years across Africa," said Russell Southwood, CEO at Balancing Act, an Africa-based consultancy and research company. "This allows African banks to focus on high-end products and services using the latest technologies to launch new banking channels. Banks are also using technology to better connect branch networks especially in rural areas which are seeing some of the highest levels of growth."

To drive demand for its services and solutions across the continent, IBM has opened over 20 offices across Africa including those in Kenya, Tanzania, Angola, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria.

About IBM

To find out more about IBM's African growth story visit: http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/presskit/34710.wss

Notes

*Bain & Company http://www.bain.com/about/press/bain-news/2011/africas-decadelong-banking-bull-run-in-pictures.aspx

IBM's agreement with the Co-operative Bank of Kenya includes Power 795 servers, DS 8800 storage, SAN Switches, Tape Library Express Model, as well as Tivoli and WebSphere software.

IBM's agreement with the National Bank of Kenya includes IBM Power 770 servers, IBM Storwize V7000 disk storage systems, IBM Tivoli and WebSphere software.

IBM's agreement with Family Bank includes IBM Power 770 server systems running on AIX and IBM Tape Library Express Model.

IBM's agreement with Credit Bank includes IBM Power 740 servers and DS5300 storage systems.

IBM's agreement with National Industrial Credit (NIC) Bank includes IBM Bladecenters and HX5 Blade servers to integrate with the bank's Temenos core banking application.

ContactsMarie-Anne (Kui) KinyanjuiIBM East Africa+254 721 676543MARIEKIN@ke.ibm.com

Jonathan Batty IBM Growth Markets Unit +48 69393 5403 Jonathan.Batty@pl.ibm.com

Pasha Ray DahnckeIBM US914-765-6148bipasha@us.ibm.com

SOURCE IBM

Copyright (C) 2011 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

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Boom amid dryness (Mobile Money)

culled from: THE NATION NEWSPAPER

Mobile payment take-off

Mobile money, experts say, holds the key to e-payment development in Nigeria, according to experts. According to a research by RNCOS, an Indian consultancy firm, the mobile market has tremendous growth potential given the fact that penetration rate was just around 50 per cent at the end of 2009. In line with the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) policy of driving financial inclusion and promoting a 'cash-less' economy, the United Bank for Africa, (UBA) and Stanbic IBTC Bank have partnered giant Telco, Globacom to offer mobile payment (m-payment) services on the Glo network. MTN Nigeria has also teamed up with Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB) and Fortis Mobile Money to launch a mobile payment and remittance service, expanding banking services beyond traditional bank branches. The partners have put an emphasis on the new service's possibilities for financial inclusion, in addition to opening up wide ranging benefits and value added services to corporate, small and medium enterprises and individual users. Mobile payments and person-to-person money transfers are forecast to become some of the most used mobile applications in many countries in the next two to three years. Reports say mobile payments will become a foundation for person-to-machine and machine-to-machine connections by 2020.

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Fortis to Deploy Over 50,000 Mobile Money Agents in 12 Months

How sure are we that FORTIS can really meet up with this challenge of mobilizing 50,000 agents, is it for the fact that they have an agreement with all the micro finance banks in Lagos? well maybe yes because that would mean they're closer to the grass root.

"Fortis, one of the 11 mobile money operators licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is currently deploying over 50,000 mobile money agents across Nigeria in one year to build a robust business network as Fortis Mobile Money roll out its service. 

Last week, MTN, a leading mobile network operator established a connection with Fortis Mobile Money to connect Fortis to its over 40 million mobile telephone subscribers on its platform. 

Henry Nwawuba, managing director and chief executive officer of Fortis described the partnership with MTN as a very significant achievement, saying that every mobile money company in Nigeria looks ahead to the kind of access MTN provides.

Having launched the service in Lagos, he said the company's mobile money service would rapidly take off in other cities and states in Nigeria. "That is because without the agent network, mobile money will not work. In Lagos, we have about 420 agents. In Abuja, we have about 1000 while in Port Harcourt we have activated 200 agents," he said.

He explained that MTN has provided Fortis Mobile Money an unrestricted access (on its network) to unstructured supplementary service data (USSD), which is a messaging function in GSM cell phones. Unlike regular text messages, USSD messages travel over GSM signaling channels and are used to query information and trigger services.

"We are asking the company to open up their distribution channels so that their airtime distribution partners can also become agent for mobile money."

Explaining the services that are available to Nigerians on the network, the managing director of Fortis said the company would provide basic mobile financial services such as fund transfer, deposit and withdrawal from the bank account, which can be done at an agent location in the community. Before a customer can access to these services, such a customer must have opened a mobile account.

 "Once that account is opened, it becomes your wallet. Do not leave home without your mobile phone. There is cash on it. The account is not physically sitting in your phone. Your phone is just an access device just like your ATM card.  When you take your ATM card to the ATM the money is not in your ATM card. Over 40 million MTN subscribers can open cash-lite account on Fortis Mobile Money by dialing *555*."

what do you think?

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How will MTN mobile money service work?

With MTN and GTB emerging and shooting straight for the mobile money market, what do you think about this collaboration and the stiff competition it would bring?


NigeriatechGuide
"MTN Mobile Money is a service that enables users send and receive money with their mobile phone. Mobile Money is offered by MTN in collaboration with GTBank. It is one of numerous mobile money services that have been launched in Nigeria over the past few months. Hopefully, this would be the first to actually takeoff.

MTN Mobile Money enables you transform your mobile phone into an e-wallet. Any MTN subscriber with a mobile money compatible SIM can create an e-wallet on their mobile phone and deposit funds in it. Once you fund your mobile money account, you can then pay for goods and services with your mobile phone at participating merchants or transfer funds to friends, family, and clients.

This is How it works

To fully utilise the MTN mobile money service, you need to subscribe first. Cashing fund transfers on MTN mobile money does not require subscription, but almost every other transaction requires a mobile money subscription. You can register at any MTN mobile money agent location or at GTbank Branch Offices and MTN Walk-In Centres.

Registration requires a mobile money compatible SIM. If your SIM is not mobile money compatible, you can buy one from the agent. The agent can also do a SIM swap for you if you want to retain your old number. You will need to fill-in some documentation to complete your MTN mobile money registration.

To fund your mobile money account you need to buy and load an MTN mobile money scratch card. Note that this is different from the normal recharge card for telecoms services. The scratch cards will be available at all mobile money agent locations, GTBank branches, and MTN centres. Mobile money transactions are protected by a 4-digit PIN. The PIN will be required to authorise all your mobile money transactions. So, you must/should keep it safe.

Once loaded with funds, you can then use your MTN phone to pay for goods and services at supporting merchants as well as buy MTN recharge cards for yourself and loved ones. You can also use it to transfer funds to family and friends whether or not they are MTN subscribers. You can also receive funds from other mobile money subscribers directly on your mobile phone.

If for any reason, you need cash, you can withdraw funds (cash) from your MTN mobile money e-wallet from any mobile money agent. You can also use the Mobile Money debit card to cash your funds from ATM machines.

The mobile money service is resident on compatible MTN SIMs, so it can be accessed from all types of mobile phones."

In your opinion what would you say?

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CBN In Talks With NIPOST Over Turning Post Offices To Mobile Payment Centres

With mobile money quickly gaining upon the intrest of stakeholders, the government and players in the industry are working very hard to make sure Agent centres are available to provide the services required.

By BusinessNews Staff

Post offices may serve as mobile payment centres, if talks between the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST) sail through.

Under the plan, CBN and NIPOST will share facilities to promote the mobile payment initiatives.

A senior official, Shares Services Office, Governor's Department, CBN, Mr Chidi Umeano, said the apex bank had discussed with the management of NIPOST on the possibility of using its offices nationwide. He said CBN task the decision because NIPOST has several abandoned offices that can be upgraded for mobile payment needs.

He said if the arrangement worked, NIPOST's offices would play key roles in the growth of mobile payment services.

Umeano spoke at a capacity building workshop for microfinance bank(mfb) operators.

He said: "Instead people buying stamps in NIPOST offices, they would be going there to buy e-values, and later convert it to cash across the country."

Umeano said provisions had been made for payment options, such as Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards, Point of Sales (POS), Web Banking, among others.

He said depositors who withdraw over N150,000 across the counters in Lagos would be sanctioned as from January 1, while those in other states would be penalised as from June 2012.

He said errant depositors would lose 10 per cent of the amount they withdraw in excess of N150,000, adding that the development would make people to use electronic payment terminals provided by the banks.

Also, the Deputy Post Master-General of the Federation, Mr Yashin Bitiyong, said NIPOST has initiated discussion with the CBN and the twenty three banks to promote mobile banking services in the country. Bitiyong said when the discussion sails through, NIPOST's customers would be able to key into networks provided by the banks and the e-payment service providers to get the services they are looking for.

"The banks and the e-payment service providers would provide networks that would facilitate mobile payment services. NIPOST would key into networks to ensure that its customers wherever they are, link up and get the services they are looking for".

He said NIPOST is not only discussing with CBN and the banks, but its building relationship with technology providers to achieve the desire results. Bitiyong said the agency would use its relationship with the Universal Postal Union (UPN) to advantage by opening its own software soon.

"We are opening our own software based on the relationship we have with other countries at the Universal Postal Union. UPN is an association of countries tasked with the objective of developing postal services globally. Being the Nigerian representative at the Union, we would ensure that we open our own software. We would bring the software to Nigeria, and we would use the software at the most backward end. I'm talking about rural areas. We would find telephone, especially handsets useful in this regard. We want to open our network to receive messages from the telephone, in order to enhance the growth of the mobile payment services," he added.

Similarly, the Chairman, National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB), Lagos State Chapter, Mr Olufemi Babajide, said the cashless banking programme is feasible in the country.Babajide said microfinance banks have important roles to play in mobile banking, in view of its strength and objectives. He said the microfinance sub-sector has a market size of over 50 million, representing about 65 per cent of the unbanked population in the country.

What do you think of this?

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MTN Nigeria ties up with GTBank for mobile money

culled from Telecompaper.com
Nigeria's GTBank has entered into a strategic partnership with MTN Nigeria to launch mobile money, targeted at the over 30 million unbanked people of the country, Daily Trust reported. GTBank CEO Segun Agbaje said that Mobile Money will help mobilise funds from the unbanked and channel the funds to productive sectors of the economy where they are needed. Subscribers will be able to transfer money, pay bills, top up airtime and shop from their mobile phones, among other things, he said. According to Agbaje, financial inclusion is what the product is about. This will help drive the growth and development of the Nigerian economy, as funds will be made available to critical sectors.

This partnership will thrive.

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ETRANZACT BEGINS MOBILE MONEY OPERATIONS, TARGETS 50,000 AGENTS

eTranzact begins mobile money operations, targets 50,000 agents
Written by Dayo Oketola

eTranzact International Plc, one of the first companies to receive mobile money licences from the Central Bank of Nigeria, has inaugurated its mobile money service: PocketMoni.

The mobile money solution is mainly targeted at the country's over 80 million adults who have never had bank accounts and it is expected to draw them into the formal financial landscape by providing access to financial services at affordable rates.

Speaking during the introduction of the m-Payment solution to journalists in Lagos, on Friday, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Valentine Obi, said PocketMoni was a mobile payment solution developed for any mobile user with any mobile phone to conduct transaction anytime anywhere.

He said, "With PocketMoni, your mobile phone becomes your bank while your mobile number becomes your account number. It fits perfectly into your lifestyles. It will allow you to conduct mobile transactions on your phone."

The eTranzact boss explained that the m-Payment service was designed for everyone including the old and the young, upwardly mobile youths, artisans and students.

Speaking on how it works, Obi said PocketMoni allowed subscribers to send money, free-of-charge to any bank account or mobile phone in the country, adding that they could also pay their DSTV, HiTV, MyTV, PHCN bills, among others, via their mobile phones.

He also said a subscriber could also recharge his phones and get up to five per cent bonus on all airtime top up on all networks.

He added that subscribers could not only pay for goods with their mobile phones, but would enjoy all transactions at no costs.

He, however, said the free-of-charge offer would only last for one year, adding that it was aimed at encouraging people to embrace the cashless initiative.

According to him, the new m-Payment solution was introduced into the Nigerian market just about the right time considering the fact that the cashless system takes off in Lagos as a pilot project, from January, 2012.

"Going cashless is the right way to go. It is a lot of savings for the country.

"There will be a lot of challenges but they will soon be surmounted."

Obi, who disclosed that the e-Payment company already had agents locations across all the states of the federation, noted that efforts had been put in place to increase its agent networks to 50,000 in the next 12 months.

He said, "We already have locations in all the states but our plan is to roll out 50,000 agent network before the end of 2012. We have started before but we had to stop because the CBN asked us to, however, there is now a green light and we will begin to recruit agents again and train them. This will enable us to cover the rural areas where basic former financial services are lacking."

He explained that the m-Payment solution could be used either on the GSM or CDMA network, adding that eTranszact would not discriminate between one network and another.

"According to our licence, the CBN has told us that we are independent and must not discriminate against any network. Our mobile money service is already on the GSM and CDMA networks."

The General Manager, Mobile Payment Services, Mr. Patrick Eregie, said a user was only required to send an SMS to a short code to have a mobile money account opened.

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MfBs, mobile money as vehicles for financial inclusion

By Amaka Abayomi, Vanguard

Across the developed world, access to financial services is largely at ones' fingertips; there is an abundance of cash and credit on demand, from multiple channels, any locations, and 24 hours a day. But, this story is very different in the developing countries like Nigeria is still high as findings have shown that the number of households without access to financial services in Nigeria remains high.

Financial inclusion, which is the delivery of financial services at affordable costs low income segments of society, has been identified as a plank to lift a large fraction of the unbanked population in countries across the world, especially Nigeria, out of poverty and hunger and bring them into the financial system.

The introduction of cashless policy and mobile money, financial experts say, would better enhance financial inclusion in Nigeria as over 90 million mobile phone users would have access to financial services.

This is because mobile money is designed to meet the needs of the unbanked without a formal bank account with a microfinance or commercial bank. The money on your mobile account is kept in a bank and managed on your behalf by the scheme operator.

One does not need to register with any licensed operator before one can conduct any financial transaction. All that is needed is to have the sender's details and authorization code to withdraw the funds at any licenced mobile money agent location. However, it will be more cost effective for the sender if you register as a mobile money subscriber in case you keep receiving mobile money transfers.

Buoyed by this, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently issued operating licenses to 12 mobile firms. The firms include: Fortis Money, UBA/Afripay, GTBank Mobile Money, Pagatech, eTranzact, Monetise, Eartholeum, Paycom, FET, Ecobank and Kudi.

According to the Head, Business Development, Fortis Mobile Money, Mr. Kunle Ogunmola, due to the wide reach of MfBs, Fortis Mobile Money is partnering with MfBs for the cashless policy to be effective and achieve its objectives,

"Mobile money is using a mobile phone as a means of authentication to conduct basic financial services like savings, remittance, payments, access to cash and other allied financial services in a convenient and secure manner from the comfort of their mobile phones, 24/7.

"It would allow people with mobile phones conduct seamless financial transactions. Your money is stored in a real bank account and not your phone, and it takes away the stress of queuing up at the banks or going to look for an ATM machine."

For the Chairman, National Association of Microfinance Banks, Lagos State chapter (NAMBLAG), Mr. Olufemi Babajide, by partnering with one of the licenced mobile money operators, the state chapter would play the role of an aggregator which automatically makes all MfBs in Lagos agents.

According to the Central Bank of Nigeria, some of the benefits accruable to the Nigerian economy from the adoption of the mobile money technology include: reduced cost of handling cash, cost of funds, improved national planning, financial inclusion, understanding of the country's true Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by the CBN, avoiding sub-charges from banks by customers, reduction in robbery incidences, as well as enhanced economic activities.

Mobile money technology would integrate Nigeria's huge informal economy, which is driven by unbanked small scale farmers, traders, craftsmen and other types of small and medium sized businesses, into the formal economy. This is because the lower transaction costs, convenience and the secure nature of the mobile money platform would strongly appeal to these segments of the society.

On the long term, mobile money will bring about transparency, improved remittances and economic activities across various sectors of the economy, both in urban and rural areas. Therefore, it is imperative for the regulators, licensed operators and other stakeholders to work together to achieve its objectives.

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AIRTEL MONEY TO TRANSFORM MOBILE COMMERCE IN GHANA

Culled from: nigeriannewsdaily.com

Airtel now Offers the most comprehensive package of mobile commerce and payment features currently available on the Ghanaian market

Airtel Money gives mobile customers in Ghana another reason to join the country's fastest growing and innovative network

Accra, December 15 2011: Airtel Ghana yesterday re-launched its award winning mobile money platform, under a new brand name, Airtel Money, which is better positioned to provide customers with an efficient alternative to cash transactions and provide millions of Ghanaians with access to banking services for the first time.

Airtel Money includes the most comprehensive package of m-commerce and payment features currently available on the Ghanaian market and it seeks to empower its customers with access to a convenient, secure and readily available way of making payments through the mobile platform.

Airtel is already in partnership with leading international and regional banks including Ecobank, GT Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Unibank, United Bank of Africa, Zenith Bank, Energy Bank and Databank to provide customers with more convenient ways of conducting mobile commerce service, deposit and withdraw cash, money transfers, banking services, paying bills, contributing to investments. There are more than five hundred (500) Airtel Money dealers, ensuring the widest availability of Airtel Money throughout Ghana.

Kola Sonola, Mobile Commerce Director at Airtel Ghana explained at the official launch of Airtel Money that the service, which previously was mainly a mobile money platform, had fully evolved into an mobile commerce platform, offering four major services, namely mobile money mobile top-up, money transfer, mobile banking and financial services for micro-finance, micro insurance and B2B services. Customers, according to him, could therefore pay their utility bills, DSTV subscription fees, buy Airtel credit, pay for goods, services and loans through Airtel Money as well as make corporate batch payments and deposit or withdraw cash from a bank. "Airtel money provides customers with a "mobile wallet" which allows them to use their mobile phones in much the same way as a bank debit card. It provides customers with increased security and flexibility, reducing the need to carry cash and ensuring prompt payments of bills, goods and services", he stated. Kola Sonola added that the uniqueness of Airtel Money also allowed customers on other networks to also enjoy the benefits of money transfer.

Managing Director of Airtel Ghana, Philip Sowah explained that Airtel aimed to deliver relevant and innovative mobile solutions to help customers overcome their daily challenges, stating that the company was once again offering Ghanaians the tools to feel free and improve their lives. "Our goal as a company is to make communications, banking, payments, retail and infotainment affordable and accessible to all in Africa", he added.

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GTBank, MTN to drive financial inclusion with Mobile Money

VANGUARD Newspaper

BY MICHAEL EBOH

GTBank Plc has entered into a strategic partnership with MTN Nigeria and Fortis Microfinance Bank to promote financial inclusiveness, with the launch of Mobile Money, targeted at the over 30 million unbanked population of the county.

At the launch of the product in Lagos, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, GTBank Plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje, said that Mobile Money will help mobilise funds from the unbanked and channel the funds to productive sectors of the economy where the funds are needed.

He explained that Mobile Money will afford subscribers the opportunity to transfer money, pay bills, top up on airtime and shop from their mobile phones, among others.

According to him, financial inclusion is what the product is about, especially as it will help bring the unbanked into the banking system, through simple technological inputs and devices.

He noted that financial inclusion will help drive the growth and development of the Nigerian economy, as funds will be made available to critical sectors in need of funding.

He said further that the Nigerian mobile money model is different from others around the world and is designed to provide immense benefits for the economy.

He expressed optimism that the partnership will dominate the country's financial landscape, especially given the necessary support and promotion by all the parties involved.

He reiterated the commitment of the bank to ensuring that the product succeeds and that it contributes meaningfully to the growth of the economy.

He continued, "Mobile Money is the fast, safe, easy, convenient and affordable way to send and receive money across the country and pay for your goods and services using the MTN mobile phone.

"The benefits of Mobile Money, include immediate money transfer and payment from the comfort their MTN mobile phone, while every transaction is secured by a PIN, which even when stolen, the money is secure.

'Other benefits are that it is very easy to use, convenient and cheaper compared to other alternatives, especially as there is no COT or any hidden charges; every transaction is done directly on the MTN line."

Also speaking, Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Brett Goschen, said Mobile Money will not only take banking to the previously unbanked, but it will also open up a wide range of benefits and value added services to the banked sector, including corporate, small and medium sized enterprises, SMEs and individual users.

According to him, reliable sources estimate that as many as two thirds of mobile phone users in Nigeria do not currently access formal financial services, with majority of them living in rural communities and fringe urban areas.

He said, "For MTN, Mobile Money represents another opportunity to bring additional added value services to our over 40 million and growing subscriber base.

"The use of mobile money products will not only improve the quality of people's lives, but will also encourage banking as opposed to storing one's earnings in cash.

"Nigeria will also benefit, as the impact of Mobile Money will flow into the other segments of the society and have a multiplier effect o n the economy."

He maintained that MTN is excited to be at the forefront of providing Nigerians with innovative products and services, adding that it will continually harness cutting edge technology solutions to deliver a variety of solutions that affect the lifestyle of Nigerians.

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