Equity Bank says at least 200,000 customers have signed up to its Equitel mobile phone service in plans to pilot the thin SIM technology in the country.
The firm is not launching publically to allow it to have manageable numbers at a time.
“As you know, we are issuing the cards from our branches and we run the risk of disrupting normal business if we don’t manage the huge interest in the SIM card,” Equity chief executive Dr. James Mwangi was qouted by the Business Daily.
Earlier, Taisy’s the thin SIM manufacturer said Equity Bank is ready to revolutionize mobile money in Kenya, a challenge to Safaricom’s monopoly. The firm has been issuing the thin SIMs to its customers quietly to transfer funds, do micro-payments and other mobile financial services using Taisys’s “mBanking” and “duoSIM”technology.
Seems McKinsey advised the bank to have a slow launch to create demand among the populace and sign up as many users as possible from its own fold then go for the rest.
Approved by Communications Authority of Kenya, Equity Bank’s Finserve Africa or Equitel is using the overlay tech sim cards on Airtel Kenya infrustructure to cary out its services. There have been fears among the public about the security of customer data and money in the mobile wallets with Safaricoms calling for more independent investigations into the technology. Nevertheless, people are curious to try the services.