| Sudan | QNB bank processes Sudan's first international card transaction in partnership with Mastercard. The bank is also the first in Sudan to have obtained an issuance license from Mastercard. Through this partnership, QNB will issue and accept the Mastercard cards in Sudan. IT News Africa |
| | EDITOR'S NOTE | Why is this important? We reported earlier in the year that Sudan had been negotiating with the United States to lift the existing sanctions on Sudan as a result of its designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism by the U.S. in 1993. This shows that sanctions are gradually being lifted and the country will be able to develop their payment industry. |
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| South Africa | First National Bank (FNB) partners with UnionPay to accept contactless payments. UnionPay cardholders will be able to make contactless payments with their cards via FNB Speedpoint terminals in South Africa. IT News Africa |
| | EDITOR'S NOTE | Adoption of contactless payment has been on the increase since the outbreak of COVID-19. According to research conducted by ABI Research, global contactless adoption will increase between 6% to 8% when compared to pre-COVID-19 projections. One of the main reasons is that contactless card payments require less interaction with Point of Sale devices, thereby minimising exposure to the virus. |
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| Global | Brazil suspends the newly launched WhatsApp payments service. Following the launch of the mobile payment service last week, the service has been shut by Brazil's Central Bank. In a statement, the bank said it was making the decision to “preserve an adequate competitive environment” in the mobile payments space and to ensure “functioning of a payment system that’s interchangeable, fast, secure, transparent, open and cheap.”. TechCrunch |
| | EDITOR'S NOTE | This announcement is the latest setback for Facebook, which began testing WhatsApp Pay in India two years ago and has yet to receive the regulatory approval to expand the payments service nationwide. With plans to launch in other countries, we expect that Facebook would have to consider regulatory hurdles to successfully expand the service. |
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| Twitter | Mobile money agents penetration vs population density. Stone Atwine (@stoneatwine) shared some interesting maps showing the penetration of mobile money agents in Uganda, Kenya, and Ghana in this tweet. |
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| Twitter | Why are virtual cards all the rage for African Fintech? Micheal Kimani (@pesa_africa) highlights the rise of virtual card offerings and how it's not an all-encompassing solution within the context of African payments. Read all about it here. |
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| Africa | Chipper Cash raises $13.8 Million Series A funding. The African cross-border remittance company has closed a funding round led by Deciens Capital and plans to hire 30 new staff globally with the new capital. TechCrunch |
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| Nigeria | Trove raises funding from 3 angel networks. Nigerian micro-investments startup, Trove, has now secured an undisclosed amount from three Nigerian angel investor networks – Lagos Angel Network (LAN), SSE Angel Network (SSEAN), and Diaspora Angel Network (DAN) which will accelerate the startup's growth and help them expand their team. Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission |
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| Kenya | WapiPay raises seed funding through Future Hub. The Kenyan based fintech startup secured capital to scale operations and expand across the continent. Future Hub is an accelerator network that is fully backed by Transsion Holdings. Tech In Africa |
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| Egypt | Egyptian fintech startup, MoneyFellows, raises $4 Million Series A funding. Led by Partech Africa and Sawari Ventures, the funding will help MoneyFellows with their African expansion plans. Financial Technology Africa |
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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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