Zain, Western Union announce alliance to deliver cross-border mobile money transfer services to Zap subscribers in Africa, Middle East

On 06.23.09, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Zain, (KW: ZAIN), the leading mobile operator in the Middle East and Africa, and Western Union, (NYSE: WU) a global leader in money transfer, today announced that they will work together to deliver mobile money transfer services in countries in Africa and the Middle East through Zain’s new Zap platform.

The Zap service provides Zain customers access to a full range of transactional services from their mobile phones. Customers can interact with select bank accounts, top-up or transfer airtime, and move money to businesses, friends and family. The service allows customers to pay bills such as electricity, and can even be used to settle grocery bills in the supermarket. Zap has been operational in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda for several months, making mobile banking services available to more than 100 million people in East Africa. Zain has announced plans to introduce Zap in 22 markets.

Western Union has a global agent network of more than 334,000 locations in 200 countries and territories. Once the service is launched with Zain, consumers will be able to send cash money transfers from participating Western Union® locations around the globe in the same way they do today. Zap customers who are enrolled in the service in select countries will be able to choose whether they want to receive their money in cash at a Western Union Agent location or in accounts tied to their mobile phones (their “mobile wallets”).

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Zain launches Zap mobile money transfer service in Uganda

On 06.09.09, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Zain, the leading mobile operator in Middle-East and African countries have inked an agreement with SCB to launch its mobile money transfer service Zap in Uganda. After receiving an approval from the Central Bank of Uganda, Zain has chosen Stanchart as Zap’s trustee bank. Zap which already is operational in Kenya and Tanzania offers mobile banking services such as money transfer, mobile airtime transfer, merchant and bill payments and international remittances.
Nearly 95% of the Ugandan population has no access to banking services of the country. With over a million of Zain subscribers in Uganda having the Zap menu enabled on their phones will enable them to use the service after registering. Zain will also soon enable its subscribers to make cross-border payments and transfers between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda at no extra charge.

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Zain & MTN apply for m-banking licences in Nigeria

On 04.13.09, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Zain and MTN, the Nigerian incumbents have applied to the Central Bank of Nigeria for m-banking licences as they seek expansion in mobile banking foray. Both the operators will reportedly target both banked and unbanked population of the country. Zain Nigeria said that its Zap service will enable subscribers to pay bills on goods and services, receive and send money from friends and families, manage their bank accounts, withdraw cash and top-up and send airtime.
A Zain spokesman said the licence being sought was not to run core banking operations but to use its network to drive mobile banking to areas where there is telecoms coverage but limited banking services. According to Emmanuel Okoegwale, an Executive Director of mobile services provide Tagattitude Nigeria, there is clearly untapped potential in the Nigerian economy, as the country has only 20 million bank accounts but over 60 million mobile subscribers.

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Zap signs up 1,400 customers in Tanzania

On 02.27.09, In Mobile, By Editor

Zain Tanzania’s brand new M-Banking service Zap has signed up nearly 1,400 customers in first 10 days of the launch of the service. Zain also reported that “hundreds” of people have also applied to register themselves as Zap agents.
Zap was launched by Zain across East Africa ten days back.

   

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Zain Group selects Oberthur Technologies’ end-to-end security platform for Africa’s biggest mobile commerce service

On 02.18.09, In Mobile, By Editor

Oberthur Technologies, one of the leading suppliers of smart card based solutions, announced its selection by Zain Group to provide end-to-end security solutions for Mobile Commerce services, including security platform and SIM application for secure payment transactions. The solution was commercially launched by Zain under the name Zap to East Africa’s 100 million people. The service is immediately available to Zain customers in Kenya and Tanzania. Zap will be rolled across Africa and the Middle East throughout 2009.

Zain is partnering with leading international and regional banks to launch Zap, which will allow Zain customers to use their mobile phone to:

  • Pay bills and pay for goods and services
  • Receive money and send money to friends and family
  • Send and receive money to the bank accounts
  • Withdraw cash
  • Top up their own airtime account or top up someone else’s
  • Send airtime to Zain customers in East AfricaManage their bank accounts

The Zap service will also be included as part of Zain’s pioneering One Network service which allows travelling customers to move across geographic borders without roaming surcharges, recharge their mobile phones with locally purchased top up cards and receive calls for free.

The user interface is easy to use and has been customized for each Zain operator across the continent. Oberthur Technologies’ expertise both in mobile and in the banking environment combined with the capability to support Zain Group at both local and global level were key to succeeding in the implementation of this major secure solutions project.

“Zain is demonstrating its ambitious strategy to become one of the top ten leading telecom companies in the world. It was key for us to reward a long term partnership, involving Oberthur Technologies in this prestigious project. By enabling people to use their mobile phones as mobile wallets, we hope to deliver lasting benefits not just for our customers, but also for the economies of Africa.” said Chris Gabriel, CEO Zain Africa

“We are proud to participate in the deployment of such a new advanced secure technology in Africa and the Middle East. The Mobile Commercial Security solution introduced in the market by the Zain Group offers a new level of payment and banking services to customers, and we are very pleased to continue investment in new solutions which benefit the daily life of people in developing markets.” said Thierry Siminger, Russia, Middle-East and Africa Managing Director at the Card Systems Division of Oberthur Technologies.

About Zain

Zain is a leading emerging markets player in the field of telecommunications aiming to become one of the top ten mobile operators in the world by 2011. Zain was established in 1983 in Kuwait as the region’s first mobile operator. Since 2003, it has grown significantly becoming the 4th largest mobile network in the world in terms of geographic presence with a footprint in 22 countries spread across the Middle East and Africa providing mobile voice and data services to 56.3 million active customers (as at 30 September 2008).

Zain operates in the following countries: Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. In Lebanon, the company manages the network on behalf of the government operating as mtc-touch.

The Zain brand is wholly owned by Mobile Telecommunications Company KSC, which is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange. The company had a market capitalization of over US$ 23.4 billion on 30 September, 2008.

For more information, please visit http://www.zain.com or email info@zain.com.

About Oberthur Technologies

With sales of 879 million Euros in 2008, Oberthur Technologies is a world leader in the field of secure technologies. Innovation and high quality services ensure Oberthur Technologies’ strong positioning in its main target markets:

  • Card Systems: One of the world’s leading providers of  security and identification based on smart card technology and associated services for mobile, payment, transport, digital TV and convergence markets.
  • Identity: International player for the manufacture and personalization of secure identity documents such as passport, identity card, driving license or health care card – traditional and electronic – and associated services for both   governmental and corporate markets.
  • Fiduciary printing: World’s third largest private security printer specialized in high security for the production of      banknotes, checks and other fiduciary documents in more than fifty countries.
  • Cash protection: World leader in the emerging market of intelligent systems to secure cash-in-transit and ATM.

   

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Zain launches Zap Mobile Banking, targets 100Mn customers

On 02.17.09, In Mobile, By Editor

Leading mobile telecommunications provider Zain announced its plans to bring mobile banking to over 100 million people in East Africa with the launch of its new service, Zap. With the most comprehensive and accessible package of mobile banking features currently available on the continent, Zap will be initially available in Kenya and Tanzania and will shortly launch in Uganda. It represents the most comprehensive mobile banking service and will provide millions of people with access to banking for the very first time.

Zain is partnering with leading international and regional banks including Citigroup and Standard Chartered Bank to launch Zap, which will allow Zain customers in the three countries to use their mobile phone to:

• Pay bills and pay for goods and services
• Receive money and send money to friends and family
• Send and receive money to the bank accounts
• Withdraw cash
• Top up their own airtime account or top up someone else’s
• Send airtime to Zain customers in East Africa
• Manage their bank accounts

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CBK gives green signal to Zain’s ZAP service (Kenya)

On 02.11.09, In Mobile, By Editor

Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) have confirmed that Zain’s ZAP money transfer service will be given the green light, after long months of acrimony that could have seen the second largest mobile telephony operator seeking legal redress. Presently, Safaricom’s M-Pesa dominates the market of mobile money transfer service and it is anticipated that the new development will boost the competition.

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Zain pilots Zap in Madagascar, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda

On 12.16.08, In Mobile, By Editor

Zain rolls out a pilot project of its rebranded mobile money transfer service Zap, which will be operational in Africa and Middle East. The pilot will be rolled out in Madagascar, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Chris Gabriel, Africa CEO of the company said, “Zain is addressing issues with the regulators and central banks in the region; we hope the process will result in benchmark standards for the sector since the mobile money transfer service is already being offered in some countries,”. Managing director Rene Meza additionally said “It will be a comprehensive mobile banking solution that will go beyond the money transfer. Customers will be able to interact with their banks and access their personal accounts,”.
The new money transfer service will allow the subscribers to withdraw and deposit money through Zain outlets and transact international money transfers. Zap will also offer added services to clients in collaboration with local commercial banks.
“We expect to launch Zap early next year, the infrastructure is in place and is functional and operational and is already being used by 80 per cent of our customers through the 2,000 outlets in the country,” said Mr Meza.
   

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Zain Kenya to relaunch Sokotele, rebranded as Zap

On 12.11.08, In Mobile, By Editor

Zain is set to relaunch its money transfer service ‘Sokotele’ in the beginning of 2009 under the brand name ‘Zap’. Rene Meza, Managing Director of Zain Kenya, said that the delay in the re-launch arose since they had not met the full regulation requirements by the Central Bank of Kenya. “You will be able to go from your mobile phone to your personal bank account in any of the local banks you may operate with, bring money from your personal bank account to your virtual wallet or hand set and send that money to a person in Nakuru,” Mr Meza explained.

Further he said that discussions with the Central Bank of Kenya and several other commercial banks were going on to meet the requirements. This service enables subscribers to withdraw and deposit money through Zain outlets and transact international money transfers. “It will be a comprehensive mobile banking solution that will go beyond the money transfer. Customers will be able to interact with their banks and access their personal accounts,” he added.

Mr Meza states that the mobile phone service market had become more competitive with the entry of Telkom and yu. “Tariffs might continue to go down although it is not sustainable for a long time because the investment needed is pretty much high,” he added. The global economic credit crunch has also affected the mobile telephony with reduced spending and dwindling credit.

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