Blockchain Research Institute Africa Making Strides in Levelling Financial Playing field Africa has an enormous cash and informal trade economy, however, at the root of many challenges that Africa currently faces is financial exclusion. An alarming 900 million are unbanked in Africa due to numerous challenges, including accessibility to banks, occupation barriers, financial limitations, gender issues, and […]
Tag Archives: FinTech
Fintech, Nigeria News
Touch and Pay [TAP] launch Cowry card cashless fare collection technology on new LRMT Blue Rail Line
500,000 Lagosians set to benefit as Nigerian startup becomes first local company to unify rail, bus and ferry via contactless cards Touch and Pay Technologies [TAP], a Nigerian fintech company and leading processor of micro-transactions in Africa, announced today that for the first time, rail passengers across Nigeria’s largest city, Lagos, can access the newly launched […]
Fintech
McKinsey & Company Predicts African Fintech Revenues Could Reach an Impressive $30 Billion by 2025
As the fastest-growing start-up industry in Africa, African fintech raised over US$1,3 billion in 2021 alone, the success of fintech companies is being fuelled by several trends, including increasing smartphone ownership, declining internet costs, expanded network coverage, and a young, fast-growing, and rapidly urbanizing population. [i] African fintech has a significant impact on day-to-day life […]
OPEN FINTECH FUTURE: Jean Olivier of Shoprite, John Singlam of Investec and Anand Naidoo of HelloPaisa shared their fintech journeys in discussion with financial journalist Refilwe Moloto at the dt (Direct Transact) Open the Future gathering in Joburg. Several local innovators came together to discuss the future of fintech for brands, retailers and banks in […]
The mobile application for Africa’s first digital lay-by and recurring payments provider, LayUp, has won ‘Best Incubated Solution’ at the 11th annual MTN Business App of the Year Awards, which honours the work of the best of the best coders, tech enthusiasts, students, start-ups and lesser-known app developers in South Africa. The application was developed by the Capital […]
Fintech
Ukheshe and Gratifii partnership marries payments and rewards solutions for powerful embedded finance
Fintech enablement partner Ukheshe continues to execute on its ongoing partnership agreement with enterprise loyalty and rewards company Gratifii. The agreement gives both organisations and their clients access to industry-leading payments solutions as well as a loyalty rewards platform, explains Pieter de Wet, President of Business Development International at Ukheshe. “Integrating Gratifii’s Mosaic loyalty platform into our Eclipse […]
Fintech
African fintech platform M-Kopa has provided digital credits worth more than $ 600 million to underbanked customers
M-KOPA announced the release of its 2021 Impact Report. As a mission-driven company, M-KOPA’s tremendous growth is rooted in commitment to both commercial and social goals. The report presents findings on M-KOPA’s smartphone, solar and cash loan customers across Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana. While much of the impact has been realised in East Africa, M-KOPA recorded […]
This small post contains unpleasant moments from Fintech companies that small companies or entrepreneurs face. Best Online money transfer, Best Digital payment services… = High Fees, Big Saving on Customer Support, ….. But Virtual Selling Assistant without Real Support. A characteristic feature of such companies is primarily enriching only shareholders and strategy without developing customer […]
Payment fraud is a nightmare scenario for any business. Irrespective of size, companies face substantial financial and reputational harm resulting from fraudulent activity. Depending on the severity of the crime and the losses incurred, the very survival of the business may be at stake. Ryan Mer, CEO at eftsure Africa, a Know Your Payee™ (KYP) platform […]
Mark Dankworth, President Business Development Africa at Ukheshe, shares his thoughts on how mobile money, cross-border payments and ‘buy now, pay later’ are transforming the financial sector, particularly in emerging markets, for the better. Last year saw an unprecedented rate of change in the financial sector, with huge growth in the use of digital financial […]
According to the latest Cryptocurrency Adoption Index, conducted by Finder.com, Ghana stands 9th among 26 other countries in terms of adopting cryptocurrency! The study was conducted among 27 countries, which says that Vietnam has the largest percentage of adults owning cryptocurrency – 29%. In the same list stands Ghana, with a percentage of 17% of […]
In 2021, the mobile industry in sub-saharan Africa continued to show incredible resilience against the impacts of Covid-19 and experienced high growth. Digital solutions have provided instrumental support for communities and businesses, boosting their transition into adopting a mobile-first approach to tackle most of the daily challenges across the continent, with fintech applications dominating this […]
As the world moved indoors two years ago, the online payment space flourished. These are the biggest developments in 2021, and a brief look ahead. This year, South Africans embraced e-commerce, mobile commerce and digital payments like never before – all four major banks have seen massive increases in these payment methods since the start of the […]
Most governments may have no option but to join the digital currency bandwagon. With the introduction of digital currencies from central banks, the world of money is poised to enter a new era. Is it going to be a paradise of financial inclusiveness or a dystopia of financial instability? What if the project turns out […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
“Africa’s new bank for startups and SMEs” to expand to South Africa & Kenya following funding Brass, a Nigerian digital bank delivering easy access to affordable premium banking services for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), has today secured $1.7mn in funding to address the heavily underserved banking needs of local entrepreneurs, traders and fast-growing businesses. […]