| Nigeria | E-payment transactions in Nigeria hit $288 billion in 2019. According to the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS) statistics for 2019, transactions processed via the NIP (NIBSS Instant Payment) amounted to NGN 105.2 trillion (~$288.3 billion), a 30% increase from NGN 80.4 trillion (~$222.3 billion) in 2018. The December holiday season alone accounted for the highest volume of transactions across all payment platforms. Techpoint Africa |
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| Nigeria | Paga acquires Apposit and announces expansion into Ethiopia. The Nigerian payments company, Paga, has acquired Apposit, an Ethiopian-based software solutions provider, for an undisclosed amount. This acquisition follows Paga's announced expansion into Ethiopia this year. Paga plans to leverage Apposit's team of 63 engineers to support their Ethiopian operations. TechCrunch |
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| Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe signs currency-swap deal with China. Mthluli Ncube, Zimbabwe's Minister of Finance, has announced a currency swap-deal between Zimbabwe and China. The agreement which is aimed at bolstering trade between the two countries will enable inbound Chinese investors to exchange foreign currencies for Zimbabwe's local currency. The East African |
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Share a tip | Do you have an announcement, event, or job posting you'd like to share, or have you come across an interesting bit of African fintech news recently? Hit reply and let me know! I might be able to include it in next week's newsletter. |
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| Twitter | What are the top 4 mobile money purchases by an African youth? Mbugua Njihia (@mbuguanjihia) shared a report in this Twitter thread on the top 4 things young people in African countries pay for using mobile money. |
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| Ghana | Ghana Commercial Bank to launch G-Money. Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) has announced plans to launch G-Money, a mobile wallet service, on January 30, 2020. Powered by USSD, the mobile wallet will enable both bank and non-bank customers to engage in local and international transactions such as transfers, savings, lending, and bill payments. Tech Nova |
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| Global | WorldRemit announces partnership with Alipay. WorldRemit, an international remittance service, has partnered with Alipay to enable Alipay's customers to transfer money into their wallets using the WorldRemit app. This partnership is targeted at global migrant workers and aims to reduce the high transaction costs typically associated with cross-border money transfers. WorldRemit |
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| Global | Airtel partners with Western Union for mobile money remittance. Airtel, a global telecommunications company, has partnered with Western Union to facilitate cross-border transfers across 14 African countries. With this partnership, 15 million Airtel customers will be able to send and receive money internationally through their mobile money wallets. Finextra |
| | EDITOR'S NOTE | In Issue 28, we disclosed Airtel's partnership with Ecobank, which enables Airtel customers to make online deposits and withdrawals through Ecobank’s digital financial system. Last week, we reported on Safaricom and Ria Money's international mobile money remittance partnership, in addition to UBA-Orange's agreement to facilitate transfers between Orange mobile wallets and UBA bank accounts. This signals an increasing trend of mobile network operators (MNOs) partnering with financial institutions that traditionally compete with and operate outside the mobile money ecosystem. |
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| Egypt | MoneyGram partners with Suez Canal Bank on cross-border money transfers. MoneyGram, an international money transfer service, has partnered with Egypt's Suez Canal Bank to provide international remittance services, which will allow MoneyGram customers to send money directly to their friends and family in Egypt through their Suez Canal Bank accounts. Crowdfund Insider |
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| Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe mandates geolocation of financial access points. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has directed all mobile money operators and financial service providers to publicly disclose the exact geographic location of all financial access points. These access points include POS terminals and ATMs. ITWeb Africa |
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| Africa | MFS Africa raises $1.2m. MFS Africa, a digital payments platform, has raised $1.2m from FSD Africa Investments, following an initial $2.2m series B investment from the same company in 2018. The deal will help MFS Africa expand their services to mobile money customers, and leverage their recently announced partnership with Visa. Financial Technology Africa |
| | EDITOR'S NOTE | In an earlier issue, we reported on MFS Africa's partnership with Visa Inc. to provide virtual Visa cards to customers with an MFS Africa-enabled mobile wallet. |
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| Africa | Six African startups selected for Catalyst Fund’s $15m Fund. Six African startups have been selected by the Catalyst Fund, a US-based accelerator, as part of the recipients of a $15m fund for fintech companies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The companies include Cowrywise, a Nigerian wealthtech startup; Pesakit, a Kenyan app for mobile money agents; Kwara, a Kenyan mobile banking platform for cooperatives; Meerkat, a South African savings and lending service; and Spoon, another South African startup. Financial Technology Africa |
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