Tag: M-PESA
Monetising Zoom calls through M-Pesa [Kenya]
With the popularity of Zoom during the coronavirus pandemic, it was just a matter of time till this service was in some way monetised on the user end. With cases on the rise and people looking for alternatives that limit the disruption of business, Safaricom’s M-Pesa seems to have struck on a solution for businesses […]
Vodafone Withdraws From FB’s Libra Association To Focus On M-Pesa
Following Facebook’s announcement of Libra, there was a brief honeymoon phase where crypto and tech enthusiasts celebrated the coming of this digital currency which would leverage Facebook’s digital footprint of 2.45+ billion users. Fast forward 7 months and that enthusiasm has died down. A number of Libra association members have stepped down with Vodafone being […]
M-Pesa Customers Outraged After PayPal Accounts Were Blocked For ‘Fraudulent Behaviour’, But They Adhere To PayPals T’s&C’s
Kenyans who happen to use M-Pesa felt hard done by as they woke up to find that their Paypal linked accounts had been ‘limited’ without being forwarned. Being limited means that they are not able to make any PayPal payments, which include sending and receiving money. So it essentially means that they are blocked. In […]
Supa Mandiwanzira’s Deadline Expired: Where Is Mobile Money Interoperability? It’s Already Happening In Kenya
What’s happening in Kenya? Safaricom and Airtel recently made their mobile money services interoperable. M-PESA and Airtel Money will work together seamlessly removing some of the logistical hassles that were involved in making payments from one mobile money service to the next. A 3rd player, Telkom – through its recently launched T-kash- is also said […]
Google Now Accepts Kenyan Mobile Money M-Pesa, Is Ecocash Next?
Kenya’s mobile money service M-Pesa (Kenyan Ecocash for the uninitiated) can now be used to pay for apps, and games on Google’s Play Store. This is great news as the lack of payment options has remained one of the barriers for Africans looking to buy goods and services online as the e-commerce stores usually only […]
The business of betting and the big opportunity for Zim mobile money
M-Pesa, the mobile money platform which falls under telecoms giant Safaricom in Kenya, is the most developed one in Africa. Recently, after shifting the servers for the service from Germany to Kenya to cut costs and improve efficiency, the M-Pesa machine is sharper than ever, capable of completing 900 transactions per second, compared with 320 previously. A fortnight ago, […]
Kenyan aggregator & micro-lender, Kopo Kopo, to launch service in Zimbabwe
It has been reported by Techmoran that Kopo Kopo, a Kenyan mobile money aggregator and micro-lender will be increasing its focus on the African market and will be launching its Grow Cash Advance product in Uganda, Ghana and Zimbabwe.
Kenya introduces bond trading via M-PESA, offers lesson to Zim govt
Earlier this week it was reported that Kenyans will now be able to open Central Bank depository accounts from their phones using their mobile money accounts without visiting a bank or broker, and proceed to buy government paper. Can this be adopted in Zimbabwe as well?
UK based Bureau de Change Chitoro integrates with EcoCash
Chitoro, an international money transfer agency based in the UK, has just announced that it recently connected EcoCash to its receiving channel for diaspora payments targeting Zimbabwe.
POTRAZ and RBZ crack whip on operators, move to lower mobile money tariffs
Like a lot of other Value added services, mobile money services have always had more than one regulator monitoring activities around service delivery and in a lot of respects, protecting the consumer. Now, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and POTRAZ (Post and Telecoms Regulatory Authority) are out to offer some form of relief to mobile […]
Does your payment startup need funding? Interswitch has $10 million for you
News coming out of Nigeria is that Interswitch, an African payments company based in the West African country launched a $10 million growth fund for African startups that are at any growth stage. According to Techcabal, Interswitch believes that the fund can contribute to “innovation and disruptive business concepts” within the African payment industry and business […]
Zim developer comes up with EcoCash ledger app to monitor m-money transactions
Sometime last year we wrote about the M-Ledger Android application that had been launched by Safaricom as an “accounting service” for the mobile money service M-Pesa. It was the product of a Kenyan startup that was working with the leading Kenyan mobile network. Noticing the relevance of such a service for Zimbabweans who use mobile money […]
EcoCash tariffs reduced slightly. Who’s benefiting from this move though?
You probably saw it in a couple of adverts yesterday; EcoCash tariffs have been reduced. Not that the advert said it explicitly, it just listed tariffs effective 1 February 2014.These are only slight reductions, something that probably explains why this wasn’t promoted extensively. The new tariffs are in the table below. The adjustments have largely […]
Safaricom partners locals for M-Ledger: Can’t we have the same collaboration in Zim?
ITWebAfrica reported that yesterday Safaricom launched a new Android application called M-Ledger for their mobile money service, M-Pesa. M-Ledger is an easily accessible mobile money accounting service which lets users to monitor and manage past transactions on a single view from mobile phone. It also gives options to gather data in spreadsheet form. It was developed […]
EcoCashLoans – Game changer? Opportunity or Threat? For who?
With the launch today of EcoCash Loans, following in quick succession from EcoCashSave accounts, Econet wireless has yet again read from the M-Pesa script to be the dominant financial services provider in Zimbabwe. EcoCash is a bank, with the largest number of customers at 3.5M registered users. Having shaken up the financial services market with […]
EcoCash-Telecash mobile money agents war still playing out in Kenya
Reads an article on Cellular News: Kenya’s Safaricom has been accused of abusing its dominant market power after it barred its mobile money agents from acting on behalf of rival networks at the same time Both Airtel and Essar Kenya (Yu) had approached mobile money agents offering Safaricom’s M-Pesa mobile money service asking them if […]
Regional & Global Round up: Bitcoin plunges, PesaPal launched in Malawi
PesaPal launches in Malawi, plans expansion in Nigeria, Ghana and Zambia (TechLoy) Moneygram customer can now use MPESA (Techmoran) Best mobile broadband service in South Africa (Mybroadband) Nigerian government may ban SIM card sales to improve service quality (TechLoy) Bitcoin value plunges (Mybroadband) Quick NetOne, Econet, And Telecel Airtime Recharge Number to recharge: Airtime […]
Sponsor Profile: EcoCash
The ePayments Forum is a platform of common interest that seeks to bring together stakeholders in the plastic money, mobile money, and internet banking sector (collectively known as ePayments). The inaugural event is organised by Techzim events through the valued support of sponsorship partners:
EcoCash by the numbers: now handles $70 million monthly
Yesterday, Econet announced its interim unaudited results for the 6 months ending 31 August 2012. The one product mentioned again and again and one the Econet leadership confirmed was their most exciting product, even comparing it to the introduction of prepaid, was EcoCash. The highlight stats of the product are that US $70 million worth […]
Do your ideas and methods address the needs of your local market?
Some several months ago a Zimbabwean friend invited me to check out website he was working on that’s modeled along the lines of American local business review site, Yelp. Our conversation, when we met and went through the website, quickly went into the relevance of his service to ordinary Zimbabweans. He seemed very much aware of the […]
Econet hires former M-PESA top talent for EcoCash
Japhet Aritho, former Head of M-PESA Product Development and Operations at Safaricom When we attended the EcoCash tour yesterday, two developments at the company stood out: A new hire, former Safaricom executive Japhet Aritho (Head of M-PESA Product Development and Operations) has joined the EcoCash team as Chief Operating Officer of Econet Services. And yes, […]
Econet announces it has reached more than 1 million connected EcoCash users
Econet Wireless, Zimbabwe’s largest telecoms firm, announced today that it has surpassed the 1 million mark in ‘connected’ users for its EcoCash mobile money service. The milestone, the company says in the announcement (a thank you to its subscribers), “has been achieved in record time and is the fastest growth of such a service in the world”
Why Africa needs more home grown brands
Every year, Interbrand undertakes an extensive probe to determine the world’s top 100 brands. The branding consultancy is among the world’s frontline experts in its field. Along with a parallel ranking conducted by Brand Finance, Interbrand’s top 100 brands survey has become a global standard.
So how much does it cost to use EcoCash?
On Friday last week, Econet launched EcoCash, a mobile money service that so far looks like a game changer. On the local market at least. The concept is a tried and tested one. M-PESA has worked phenomenally well in Kenya, and Econet has read the M-PESA story cover to cover. In fact it is its similarity to M-PESA that gives Econet the game changing potential it has with EcoCash.
Western Union introduces domestic money transfer
Techzim has just found out that Western Union has been offering a domestic money transfer service since the 16th of May 2011. It appears as if not enough PR work was done in this regard as even an online search did not yield any information. The money transfer service enables locals to send and receive money within Zimbabwe without the need of a bank account. A receiver is able to access money within minutes of sending and is subject to agent locations. Western Union’s local agents are Microking (a subsidiary of Kingdom Bank), Easy Link, POSB, and FFS.
Kenyans to receive Western Union remittances on M-PESA
In what Safaricom is referring to as “the largest deal of its kind in the world”, M-PESA subscribers in Kenya will now be able to receive international Western Union remittances on their mobile phones. With a total of 13.5 million subscribers on the M-PESA platform, the development is a big milestone for both Safaricom and Western Union.
The Safaricom/Western Union alliance will see Kenyans receive remittances from 45 countries and territories. “No other Kenya operator can receive money from as many countries”, Safaricom boasted in a release.
Telecel makes move into mobile banking
Telecel customers will soon be able to use their cellphones to buy groceries and airtime, pay bills, deposit and withdraw money, transfer and send money.