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The financial services industry today is characterized by change. Investor interest and capital is pouring into fintech companies – digital banks, insurtechs, wealthtechs, proptechs and every option in between are shifting how financial services are created, offered and evaluated. New changes, new challengesThis shift has spurred many traditional financial institutions to take action. Yet, changes aren’t always straightforward. Financial institutions know they need to embrace innovation, and they also have to find better ways to understand and respond to their customers.At the same time, the shift has put a spotlight on a new area of opportunity for big tech companies like Alibaba, Apple, Google, Tencent and others. These companies have incredible reach, deep roots into their customers’ lives, and robust customer data. Big techs are also constantly looking for ways to provide their customers with more value, to enhance customer loyalty by providing a more integrated ecosystem. Most already offer payments solutions, so extending their offerings to include financial products makes sense. However, there are no strong indicators that the big tech companies want to become banks. The regulatory burden is so far considered too high for their appetite1. Forging strategic alliancesBig tech and financial institutions are already investing in fintechs to help advance their strategic goals. For example, Tencent led a $35 million investment in open banking focused TrueLayer in the UK this year2.What they are realizing that partnerships don’t have to be limited to start-ups – working together with established institutions can create value. Over the past 6 months, there have been a number of strategic business relationships announced, such as Google’s partnership with Citibank and Stanford Federal Credit Union, to offer smart checking accounts3 and Apple’s announcement of a partnership with Goldman Sachs to offer the Apple Card credit card4. These will likely only be the beginning. 

An Egyptian digital payments firm has quadrupled in value during the pandemic, helped by a government push to reduce citizens’ heavy reliance on cash. Investors and analysts are split on whether the stock rally has further legs.

A 300% rally from a mid-March low has boosted its market value to 20 billion Egyptian pounds ($1.3 billion). That puts Fawry among the country’s 10 most valuable companies alongside firms such as Telecom Egypt Co. and Elswedy Electric Co., which generate many times more revenue and profit.

SnapScan launched in South Africa in May 2014, although the app had been operational since June 2013. The app was launched in partnership with Standard Bank, and the bank ultimately acquired the developer of SnapScan, FirePay, at the end of 2016.

“What they lack, specifically in Africa, is merchant and business acceptance. As a result, they are reliant on banks to issue card tokens to their wallets and to roll out a merchant acceptance network.” SnapScan, on the other hand, is a potential solution for businesses where card terminals are not cost efficient or appropriate.

By accruing farmer data, FarmDrive eliminates some of the risk for banks. FarmDrive has partnered with African financial firms who accept their alternative credit scores and determine appropriate loans for smallholder farmers. Lending institutions thus consider both the self-reported financial history of farmers as well as exogenous variables that will affect their crop yields.

FarmDrive depends on aid organizations, like USAID, and private firms that operate in the agricultural industry. FarmDrive is expanding its data collection through new partnerships with Planet, a satellite company, and The Impact Lab, a data analytics group, to potentially incorporate climate information gathered via satellite imagery into its algorithm.

The app has since evolved and, today, SnapScan allows users to make quick and easy payments using their smartphones, thus eliminating the need to carry cash or cards.

In its infancy, SnapScan flourished in coffee shops and at weekend markets. The founding team had extensive experience in banking and mobile money, and they knew that payments for these merchants could be vastly improved

Hellomarket will be the platform used for local transactions, enabling buyers to order, deliver and pay for goods through electronic banking services. Belcash has signed an agreement with DHL Express, a Germany company, for logistics services.

For buyers abroad, Belcash introduced Helloshop, a platform that allows domestic products to be ordered through the firm’s portal and the payment to be processed through Mastercard Payment Gateway Services.

“This will make foreign currency flow through the proper channels to local banks,” said Zewdu Assefa, deputy CEO of Belcash Ethiopia. “The seller receives the Birr equivalent of the amount earned in foreign currency.”

In Egypt, we have two customer segments; first is the bank population where we offer our services through banking channels, including services that allow people to pay their bills, their bus and airline tickets. Then we do the same exactly for the unbanked or the under-banked where you go to an agent and there you make the payment either in cash or electronically. These are the two main customer segments and probably they are mainly in the age group between 20 to 40.

Jumo manages a platform that provides financial services, such as loans and savings products, from partner banks to individuals and small businesses in emerging markets via mobile phones.

A potential borrower's credit risk profile is generated from behavioural data gathered through mobile networks. This helps banks that do not have data on these people to determine a credit score.

The 2008 financial crisis has generated a confidence loss among financial institutions (banks), businesses, and customers. This erosion of trust is getting worse over time because of the financial services offered by their banks that have been deemed to be outdated by the clients. In our century, the march of technology, internet connectivity, and digital connectivity toward financial institutions are inevitable. This economic downturn leads financial institutions to turn to technology in order to improve their services vis-a-vis the clients, and prevent the spread of this trust crisis. In many financial service organizations, technology has moved from the back offices to the front. The industry has become the world’s most digitized one according to Strategy & Analysis; they say that 60 percent of all retail banking transactions now are done online. In Europe, more than 47 percent of ultra-high-net-worth individuals use Facebook and more than 40 percent of high-net-worth individuals under the age of 50 view social media as an important channel for communicating with their bank, according to a recent study by Assetinum. Similarly, a recent Deutsche Bank study finds that more than 33 percent of all new banking business with customers between the ages of 16 and 39 is conducted fully on the Web. Among these younger clients, online channels (including social media) have become one of the most important information sources for investment decisions

SnapScan is a mobile payments app, providing South Africans with the most convenient way to pay with their phones. The app was named MTN App of the Year in 2013, and now boasts a network of over 50 000 merchants nationwide, with one million app downloads to date. SnapScan is an easy, affordable and convenient way for merchants to accept payments; as well as a safe, secure and seamless payment option for users. SnapScan combines the agility and speed of a small local startup with the industry knowledge and experience of Standard Bank, Africas biggest bank. As a team, we love solving difficult problems, especially when it comes to making fast, easy mobile payments possible!SnapScan is a product of FireID Payments, part of the FireID group, a set of local startups building elegant solutions to a wide range of difficult and interesting problems.

SnapScan combines the agility and speed of a small local startup with the industry knowledge and experience of Standard Bank, Africas biggest bank. As a team, we love solving difficult problems, especially when it comes to making fast, easy mobile payments possible!SnapScan is a product of FireID Payments, part of the FireID group, a set of local startups building elegant solutions to a wide range of difficult and interesting problems.

SnapScan is a mobile payments app, providing South Africans with the most convenient way to pay with their phones.

The convergence of mobile telephony, banking services, and information systems creates significant economic opportunities on a global scale. While the adoption of mobile banking and mobile money emerged on the global scene as a tool to promote financial inclusion, new developments in the industry have created additional possibilities for this type of technology to revolutionize the practices and experiences of business owners in the Third World. This paper calls attention to the different ways in which mobile banking services and mobile payment systems are able to create value for their consumers. An empirical case study is developed using the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (City of Accra) that details the experiences of MTN Mobile Money users.

The Central Bank of Lesotho has authorised mobile money issuers to increase the daily limit of transactions for duly identified and verified mobile money customers. The Bank came about this decision of authorisation in order to facilitate a wider use of electronic payments for goods and services by the public during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Central Bank of Lesotho has authorised mobile money issuers to increase the daily limit of transactions for duly identified and verified mobile money customers. The Bank came about this decision of authorisation in order to facilitate a wider use of electronic payments for goods and services by the public during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Businesses, as well as Kenyans and expatriates with friends and family abroad, send over US$18 billion to other African countries, Asia and Europe annually with several billion Kenya Shillings going through the Simbapay network. Therefore, this service will offer Prime Bank’s customers a world-class fully digital international money transfer service,” added Karanja.

Prime Bank’s Director for Business Development, Vijay Kantaria, said the tier 2 lender has embarked on investment in technology through partnering with various FinTechs to accelerate its digital integration plan.

Through SimbaPay, Prime Bank customers will now be able to instantly and securely send money directly to bank accounts or mobile wallets across 15 countries in Africa, Europe, and Asia including India, United Kingdom, China (WeChat Pay), Germany, Uganda among others.

Commenting on the partnership, SimbaPay’s Head of Operations Victor Karanja noted that the service will provide a seamless platform for Prime Bank’s customer base to send money abroad at the click of a button.

In 2014, Standard Bank launched an innovative new app in conjunction with the start-up umbrella company FireID- SnapScan. This app allows its consumers in South Africa to pay for items via their smartphones at retailers who have registered for the app .

In 2014, Standard Bank launched an innovative new app in conjunction with the start-up umbrella company FireID- SnapScan. This app allows its consumers in South Africa to pay for items via their smartphones at retailers who have registered for the app . The idea behind this technology was to increase safety for consumers since this app allows them to leave their bank cards at home. By not having your credit card on you, the creators believe your money is safer.

For those of us who are already struggling with limited memory on our smartphones there is some consideration that needs to happen before we can commit to another app. Here are some pros and cons of SnapScan and my final verdict:

M-Pesa offers a safe, fast and low-cost way to pay, receive, transfer and store money. M-Pesa, works in real time and digitally, making it faster and cheaper than traditional informal money transfer services (e.g. sending money on a bus) and safer since every transaction is protected and signed with a PIN.

M-Pesa is specifically designed to benefit customers who have no access to banks - either because they do not have a bank account or because they live too far away from a bank branch. Each transaction is made with a mobile handset, enabling our customers to send money from any location.

Arguably the bank’s most well-known fintech acquisition in recent years is the QR code payment app SnapScan. In 2016 the bank acquired a majority share of Firepay, the company behind Snapscan, for an undisclosed stake.Firepay, which was co-founded in 2013 through startup incubator FireID by Kobus Ehlers and Malan and Philip Joubert among others, launched the SnapScan app in partnership with Standard Bank in 2014.

WorldRemit, on the other hand, partners with local banks and mobile networks; in Kenya, for example, it is working with electronic wallet service M-Pesa, so that money can be transferred instantly to all customers. The recipient can retrieve the funds as a bank deposit into a local WorldRemit bank account, as mobile money, airtime top-up or as cash at a supermarket. The fees are two to three per cent lower than those charged by most banks. WorldRemit’s closest rival is Remitly, another digital-only company that specialises in sending money from developed countries to the developing world.

Zeepay Ghana has been awarded the Electronic Money Issuer (EMI) license to operate as a mobile financial services company by the Bank of Ghana, the regulator of banking and financial services