Visa has announced the launch of a new plug-and-play mobile money service in collaboration with Aircel
The new platform will allow Visa to host and manage all areas of a mobile money program on behalf of the provider, from user interface design to consumer enrollment and transactions processing.
Bill Gajda, head of global mobile products for Visa, said, “We applaud the pioneers in Africa, Asia and the Middle East who have launched closed-loop mobile financial services and reached so many consumers so quickly.
“As demand grows, so does the cost and complexity to maintain these services. Visa’s new mobile money platform is designed to allow mobile operators and financial institutions to focus on their core business, while leaving the management of their mobile money service to Visa,” Gajda added.
Customers in India and Rwanda are the first to benefit from the service, as Aircel mobile subscribers in India and customers of the Bank of Kigali and Urwego Opportunity Bank have been given access to a financial account that is linked to their mobile phone number.
Geoff King, head of mobile banking at Aircel, commented, “Through the Visa hosted and managed service, Aircel is now able to partner with local banks to offer our mobile subscribers access to money services that will simplify their financial lives. We begin with our partnership with ICICI to offer customers the ability to send cash across the country securely, to top up their prepaid mobile accounts and pay their utility bills.”
