The combination of ZunguZ, a multi-tier social payment platform, with deep integration into the Facebook and the Social graph, represents an unparalleled offering that can only lead and help develop the mobile payment space – particularly in Africa.
ZunguZ has been established to provide users linked with social network websites with the ability to handle payments via the social network channel.
From a practical consumer point of view, users at banks and financial service providers that use the ZunguZ platform, can access their accounts, withdraw finances and make payments to other users inside social networks, using the existing highly secure mechanism already offered by their bank.
Executive leadership behind the offering, Robert Sussman and Lance Fanaroff, have introduced the offering at exactly the time there is a surge of interest and investment in mobile payment systems and convergence with mobile and online platforms throughout the continent.
In a recent article published by Livdigital.co.za, international social media and digital analytics company, Socialbaker, made reference to analysis of recently submitted IPO documents by Facebook, which showed that Nigeria has the highest Facebook mobile penetration globally, with 81.2% penetration.
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It has been widely publicised that Facebook’s global subscriber base is now over 1 billion.
Sussman and Fanaroff believe that the Facebook mobile platform in Africa represents a critical game-changer for the mobile payment industry on the continent and is a key opportunity for the right kind of service provider.
“Mobile payment platforms and related services are gaining traction in Africa. They meet an increasing need amongst communities for affordable way to transfer money. Mobile penetration across many African markets is on the rise and it makes sense that social networking will come into the mix as a fast, accurate and secure way to manage money. We take mobile and add social, and it has now become a whole new dimension” Sussman explains.
Facebook’s listing and growth of its subscriber base, the high growth of mobile devices and increased focus of mobile service providers on access to the Internet via mobile has created a platform for the advancement of mobile payment services.
It is a space that leading operators, like ZunguZ, are keen to take advantage of.
“Differential quality will be in the maturity and security of architecture upon which offerings are based,” adds Sussman. “We have leadership and success in this area. The ZunguZ hosted platform has been consistently upgraded and its architecture refined to the point that it serves as a convenient and easily accessible social payment platform solution to many leading organisations across the continent.”
ZunguZ has expanded into Latin America and will announce its stream of payment partners shortly.
