Fintech Archives - Page 12 of 19

24Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, Tech

The CIO’s roadmap for digital transformation

As the pandemic dispersed the workforce, necessitating more sophisticated means to connect, collaborate and communicate, digital transformation became a business imperative. Fikile Sibiya, CIO at fintech specialist e4, explains why a roadmap for the future is essential in this transformation, and elaborates on what it should entail. Organisations in diverse industries are transforming their business models by embracing modern technologies to enhance their product offerings, client experiences and ways of doing business. Though this shift was already happening pre-pandemic, it has sped up considerably since 2019. As all this analogue-to-digital transformation is occurring, and occurring at a fast pace, the existing workforce often does not have the requisite skills to keep up with t...

18Nov

By Giorgi MikhelidzeNo Comments

Fintech, Forex, South Africa News

How to get started with trading in South Africa?

The foreign currency market may be speculated on legally and profitably in South Africa via the use of forex trading. Predicting price changes in currency pairings may be lucrative for South African Forex traders. The volatility of the foreign exchange market enables certain traders to make huge gains, with some even making millions of dollars. Because dealers will simultaneously sell one currency and acquire another, prices are given in pairs. Due to the small profit margins in forex trading in South Africa, generating significant profits might need a significant infusion of cash. Each of the world's top ten wealthiest foreign exchange dealers will make a fortune in 2021 by risking enormous sums of money in order to reap the advantages. The money you'll need to support your dre...

17Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech

Airtel Money drives efficiency for businesses through Airtel Africa Developer Portal

Airtel Money, the dedicated mobile money platform, is driving better efficiency for businesses to engage in seamless mobile money activity with its upgraded Airtel Africa Developer Portal. The portal, using several Open APIs and solutions, integrates remote payments with Airtel Money wallets, to provide greater ease of access for Airtel Money services across multiple business sectors and regions across the Continent. The portal enables Airtel Money to better respond to the rise in popularity around digital money services and ecommerce platforms across Africa. This highly secure and seamless portal was created especially for those merchants and e-commerce businesses to create, discover and integrate into Airtel Money’s fast growing library of Open APIs. The APIs available on the portal al...

16Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech

Paysend reaches 5 million customers globally in under 5 years

One of the world’s fastest growing FinTechs having added 1.5 million customers in the last 6 months alone. Accelerating customer growth driven by strategic investment following landmark $125M Series B funding round in May 2021. Investment and innovation driving financial inclusion, set to unlock $5.4bn in annual savings for consumers and SMEs by 2025. Paysend, the card-to-card pioneer and international payments platform, announces that it has reached five million customers, with one and a half million customers joining in the last six months alone. Founded less than five years ago, this makes Paysend one of the world’s fastest growing FinTechs. Paysend’s platform is unique, owning the entire payment value chain. It removes the need for third-party acquirers or processors whic...

12Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, Startups

Failing To Win

A new book from Burnet Media, Cape Town will inspire and guide the next generation of African entrepreneurs. Failing To Win by Mike Quinn is the authentic story of a uniquely African startup at the forefront of the continent’s fintech revolution. Inspired to become the “M-Pesa of southern Africa” after Kenya’s pioneering mobile money innovation, Zoona secured tens of millions of dollars in international investment and grew to serve two-million customers in Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique while processing $2.5-billion in transactions. This is an ideal read for anyone doing business or investing in Africa, and in particular for purpose-driven entrepreneurs and impact or venture capital investors. ABOUT THE BOOK In 2009, Canadian entrepreneur Mike Quinn packed his backpack and moved to Lu...

8Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Business, Fintech

Mitigating the risks of payments fraud

Global losses from payment fraud have tripled from US$9.84 billion in 2011 to US$32.39 billion in 2020, according to Deutsche Bank’s 2021 report on the future of payments. And financial professionals are saying COVID-19 hasn’t helped matters, with 65% believing that the global pandemic is to blame for some of the accelerated rate in fraud activity, revealed by a 2021 survey by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP). While these cybercriminals can target many areas of an organisation, the dangers are ultimately measured in financial terms. This means that Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) can no longer ignore cyber security simply because it is a complex issue outside their area of expertise. As custodians of the company’s monetary assets and financial data, CFOs are responsible ...

28Oct

By Udette KirschNo Comments

Fintech, Nigeria News, South Africa News

Cryptocurrency and herding behaviour

By: Udette Kirsch - behavioural economist & strategic marketing specialist Cryptocurrencies refuse to play by the rules. People rely on experts for all sorts of advice, but when it comes to cryptocurrencies, they seek advice from peers and the internet. So, what causes this behaviour, and what are the implications? Hint: it’s rooted in behavioural psychology. Recent studies suggest that crypto-currency investors rely less on expert advice and increasingly follow peer investor communities for guidance. The daily value of South African crypto trading recently exceeded $141 million for the first time, indicating that many South Africans consider the risks of this complex, unregulated market to be acceptable for the returns which it may deliver. Digital advocates have hailed cryptocurr...

28Oct

By Andrea TuckerNo Comments

Fintech, South Africa News

How business can harness the power of blockchain

By Andrea Tucker, Head of Research & Development and Strategic Projects at fintech specialist e4 In today’s digital world, where faxes have all but been replaced by email and landlines by smartphones, doesn’t it seem strange that we’re still signing contracts in person? That we’re driving hours to do so, creating mountains of paper trails, and storing them in lever arch files to gather dust, when the technology exists to eliminate this physical burden? Blockchain has been proven to solve this problem, yet its business adoption has been slow. The technology at the heart of bitcoin and other virtual currencies, blockchain is an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way. It’s time for the way we do admini...

22Oct

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, South Africa News

Africa is perfectly placed to take advantage of new payment solutions

Digital innovation has evolved payments solutions at breakneck speeds. Everything from contactless payments, QR codes and digital wallets … consumers today have so many new ways to pay. The big challenge, however, is to ensure that the millions of South Africans who still use cash are able to access these services. “Unfortunately, cash still dominates as the main payment form for millions of South Africans,” says Thomas Pays, CEO and co-founder of Ozow. “This happens simply because of a lack of access to infrastructure, high data costs, and a general mistrust in financial institutions. All of these factors ultimately prevent many consumers from participating in the digital economy.” There is hope, though. A recently published South African Township Marketing Report found that while c...

22Oct

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, South Africa News

Municipal Payments Essential for South Africa’s Future Cities

The urban population in Africa has swelled from 15% of the total population in 1960, to over 40% in 2010 and is set to exceed 60% by 2050[ii]. It is anticipated that South Africa will follow suit. In fact, current projections indicate that an additional 19 to 24 million people will be added to the national population over the next three decades, and that the vast majority of this growth will be confined to cities and towns[iii]. But what is needed by the country’s municipalities to cope with and cater for this growth? “Municipal payments play a vital role in creating cities of the future,” says Nomvula Nyandeni, Business Development Lead at Pay@, one of Southern Africa’s leading payment solutions providers. “Municipal revenue collected from customers is integral to sustain cities f...