Market share of account-to-account (A2A) transactions is expected to increase steadily over the next five years, but the lack of a sustainable income stream for participants put the business case into question. Account-to-Account (A2A) payments enable the direct transfer of monies between accounts without relying on third-party intermediaries or payment cards. According to the 2022...
Somalia’s largely unbanked population could still aid the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country, if they join mobile money service. A new study on Somalia’s business environment says use of mobile money services could plug the hole of financial inclusion, and dodges most of the barriers in Somalia, because it aids...
Giulia Paravicini Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday urged Ethiopia to open up its telecoms sector to private mobile money business investors, a move that would complement a process already underway to reform the sector and bring in foreign investment. Ethiopia is opening up its telecoms sector, hitherto a monopoly of the state-owned Ethio Telecom,...
NAIROBI, (Reuters) – Somalia’s central bank awarded on Saturday the country’s first mobile money licence to Mogadishu-based Hormuud Telecom Somalia Inc, a move aimed at formalising the country’s digital payments system and integrating it with the global financial system. Hormuud Telecom, which began operating in the Horn of Africa nation in 2002, has some 3.6...
Russell Padmore More than a million dollars may have been stolen by cyber criminals who attacked Uganda’s mobile digital payment system over the weekend, although that has not been confirmed by the telecom companies or banks. Stanbic Bank and the mobile operators MTN and Airtel have admitted there was an “incident.” More than 20 million...
Ken Gichinga As the world continued to focus on the unfolding impact of Covid-19 on every aspect of our lives, one important story was quietly developing and almost passed by unnoticed. In the end, it could turn out to be the most important story in corporate Kenya this year. Ethiopia, the second-largest market in Africa,...
By Ali Haji Warsame Historically, money was used to be defined in different contexts with different periods of time. It is commonly used as a store of value. By having money, we get the things we need and desire. The task of defining what money is, where it comes from and what it’s worth belongs to...
By Frankline Sunday A Safaricom subscriber uses MPESA money transfer platform in Nairobi. [Elvis Ogina/Standard] Mobile money transactions have declined in the wake of new taxes introduced on digital cash transfers and bank charges. Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicate that transactions marked one of the steepest declines in several months,...
Mohammed Ahmed Ismail, a currency exchanger, waits for clients in Somaliland’s capital Hargeisa. PHOTO | COURTESY On the dusty streets of Somaliland’s capital Hargeisa, Mohammed Ahmed Ismail is arranging paper money in his tidy, waiting for clients who wish to exchange foreign currency. Ismail has more than five years experience in the trade. Together with...
By Victor Odundo Owuor Residents shop for mobile phone handsets at a shopping center in Mogadishu A recent World Bank report showed that Somalia has one of the most active mobile money markets in the world, outpacing most other countries in Africa. It’s even superseded the use of cash in the country of 14 million people. Victor Owuor asked Tim...