Mobile banking and payments services provider eTranzact International’s mobile money service “PocketMoni” has been nominated in the best mobile money service category of the AfricaCom awards and Lead Africa Awards 2014.
The AfricaCom Awards celebrates breakthroughs and influential players shaping the digital technology, media, telecommunications and ICT industry, will be holding on the 12th of November 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa.
eTranzact’s PocketMoni is a mobile payment solution designed to allow users conduct financial transactions anytime, anywhere, from their phone. With PocketMoni, your phone is now your bank and your mobile phone number becomes your account. Informa ,organizers of the AfricaCom Awards 2014,look forward to welcoming eTranzact to the awards ceremony and celebrating the achievements of the African Mobile Money Industry and greater the African Telecoms community”.
In a statement, Mr Ayo Oladimeji, Head of PocketMoni at eTranzact said; “It’s a big honour for us to be nominated in such a prestigious category at the AfricaCom Awards 2014. eTranzact has been in operations since 2003, and early enough our CEO, Mr Valentine Obi who many describe as the Father of Mobile Payments in Nigeria, understood the importance of leveraging technology to make payments easy.
This led to many of the innovative offerings that eTranzact has come up with over the years.At various times, we had gone to the Central Bank with several electronic payment initiatives, but the state of technology at that time slowed down the kick off of those initiatives, but with improved technology and the attentiveness of the Federal Government and CBN, today the cashless policy is becoming a reality. We believe this is only the beginning and look forward to achieving more greatness with our mobile money service”.
eTranzact’s effort in mobile began in 2003 long before mobile money was finally introduced in Nigeria. PocketMoni was approved by the Central bank of Nigeria in 2012, and has acquired a customer base of about 1.1 million users, with a robust agent network of over 4500 agents across Nigeria, and has leveraged on innovative technology in delivering to the different bands of the financial pyramid.
In 2013, the company processed over USD 600 million which accounted for over 1.8 million transactions on PocketMoni and related services.
The service has won a series of awards and grants, the most recent one coming from EFInA, a financial development organisation which is funded by the UK Government’s Department of International Development (DFID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the tune of USD250,000. As part of the terms of the grant, eTranzact will also put in USD100,000 and will drive the execution of a mobile money project called the “PocketMoni 500” in North and South Western Nigeria.
With low internet penetration a major challenge to the adoption of mobile money in Nigeria, the key value proposition of eTranzact’s PocketMoni is ubiquity; being able to send, receive money and make payments using USSD, SMS, GPRS/lnternet and the web. Security is a key feature that distinguishes PocketMoni from other products, with its seamless two way authentication that ensures fraud is minimized or non-existent.
The company has entered into several partnerships that have positioned it to be better for the population. It has achieved direct fibre optic connection with 5 GSM and one CDMA operator which ensures that it can withstand high capacity traffic and minimizes transaction failure which has helped deliver premium user experience.
Partnerships with the two biggest international remittance organisations enable users to receive international payments on their mobile devices. Also, a version of the product called “PocketMoni Global” has been developed to work in over 50 countries and allows airtime recharge, money and bank transfers in those countries.
Key to adoption of the product has been the number of platforms available for users to carry out transactions. Users can use the USSD/IVR, and Smartphone Apps across all app platforms. Users also get prepaid and debit cards that allows them carry out transactions on ATMs and online.
