Mobile payments are taking over in East Africa after the launch of mobile money. However, there are various challenges to users.
Most times, payees may not be able to cash-out when needed and at times mobile money agents too lack enough float to service payees. In fact, a recent HELIX, IFC and Micro Save report shows that 35% of agents lose 5 or more transactions a day due to a lack of float & this is primarily due to unpredictable demand.
To end this menace, using its Funds-To-Phones platform, bulk payment and money tranfer firm Beyonic has partnered with Mercy Corps’ Agri-Fin Mobile program, to improve mobile payments by connecting 200 mobile money agents and 10,000 mobile money recipients in real time.
Beyonic and the Agri-Fin Mobile program will initially be working with Agricultural value-chain providers like Agrinet, FIT Uganda and KAD Africa, across MTN and Airtel’s mobile payment networks, with 200 mobile money agents and over 10,000 payees. Agri-Fin sees this as an important step towards meeting its program goals.
The deal will allow businesses enable payees to cash out and deploy mobile money funds transferred to them, in a timely manner. Agents will be able to predict spikes in demand better, and plan ahead, reducing stock-outs. They will also be able to access more mobile payment customers. And lastly, payees will be able to access information about payout options near them.
Beyonic will allow them to cash out within a few days and as well increase the efficiency of the agent network as Beyonic’s customers already know when and where they are directing payments, and will be able to leverage this information to match payees to agents.
Beyonic’s Funds-To-Phones platform, is an enterprise cloud-based tool for managing and streamlining bulk payments to mobile.