“Earlier this year in March, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) imposed a fee waiver on transfers for transactions of no more than KES 1 K (USD 9.15 at current rates). This was part of efforts aimed at containing the spread of the virus as banknotes were identified as a risk factor for the contagion. The intention was that this action would trigger the increased use of mobile money services and limit cash-handling.  While it’s logically a good move putting the health and the wellbeing of people first, this single directive is found to have also caused a significant dip in revenue for Kenya’s dominant mobile money service, M-Pesa, and by extension, the country’s leading telco, Safaricom, took a hit.”

“Customers sending money using M-Pesa platform will now be able to see the name of the targeted recipient before completing the transaction in Safaricom’s  latest bid to minimise chances of erroneous transfers. The new feature is an improvement from the current one where customers have to complete the transaction first before being given the option of cancelling it within 25 seconds.”

“Standard Chartered Bank and Airtel Africa have partnered to enhance financial inclusion across key markets in Africa by providing services such as online deposits, international money transfers etc. “ Airtel Money ’s customers will be able to make real-time online deposits and withdrawals from Standard Chartered bank accounts, receive international money transfers directly to their wallets, and access savings products amongst other services,” Airtel said.”

“M-Pesa is planning a consumer “lifestyle” offering as it seeks to deepen clients’ use of its mobile-money application, Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, interim CEO of M-Pesa Africa, tells The Africa Report. Consumer choices of goods and services will be embedded into the M-Pesa app in the new product, Lopokoiyit says. The offer, planned within the next 12 months, will probably be launched first in Kenya and then extended to other African markets.”

“From mobile money to mobile banking, Orange takes the next step in West Africa. Twelve years after the launch of the Orange Money transfer and payment service, we’re now opening the 100% mobile Orange Bank Africa, led by Jean-Louis Menann-Kouame, in Côte d’Ivoire. Patrick Roussel, Executive VP MEA Mobile Financial Services, tells us more about this ambitious financial inclusion project for the Middle East and Africa.”

“To be clear: T-Mobile isn’t running its own bank. Rather, it’s a T-Mobile-operated face for a digital bank called BankMobile, which is a part of Customers Bank. It’s sort of like an MNVO, but instead of, say, a startup using existing cell service from a larger carrier to offer its own service, its’ T-Mobile using existing banking infrastructure. T-Mobile Money is still a real checking account, complete with FDIC insurance for balances up to $250,000, a Mastercard-powered debit card, and the ability to send paper checks directly from a smartphone app. You can also add a T-Mobile Money card to Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, or Google Pay.”

“It’s a no-fee, interest-earning, mobile-first checking account that anyone can open and manage right from their smartphone. With T-Mobile MONEY, eligible Un-carrier customers can earn an industry-leading 4.00% Annual Percentage Yield (APY)* on balances up to $3,000 – 50 times higher than the average U.S. checking account1 – and 1.00 APY% on every dollar over that! Plus avoid all those big bank fees and overdrafts.”

“T-Mobile explicitly says it is targeting Square Inc. and Clover , a point-of-sale service from First Data Corp. Of the three, GoPoint’s per-transaction fee of 2.75% is the highest, but it charges nothing extra for same-day funding, while Square has a 1% fee for that and Clover does not offer the feature. Square’s software-licensing fees may range from $0 to $60 per month and Clover’s from $14 to $29 per month, while GoPoint has none. GoPoint also will provide 24-hour customer service.”

“Small businesses shouldn’t have to pay to get paid. T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) today announced the Un-carrier is solving more pain points for businesses, this time freeing them from the extra fees other mPOS providers charge. T-Mobile is putting Square and Clover on notice With GoPoint by T-Mobile for Business, a new mobile Point of Sale (mPOS) solution offering free same-day funding and no software licensing fees, businesses get their hard-earned money faster and don’t have to worry about surprise fees. And in true Un-carrier fashion, GoPoint provides 24/7 live technical support with no hoops to jump through to talk to a real person. The Un-carrier also announced T-Mobile for Business Marketplace, providing businesses with a suite of affordable, business-critical mobile device management (MDM) and productivity software.”