Ericsson has entered into a partnership with Africa-based Tigo Rwanda to support its business support systems (BSS) ecosystem with an innovative ‘as a service’ model, leveraging Ericsson BSS portfolio, with an aim to upgrade Tigo’s IT infrastructure

The integration will enable Android Pay users to send money to an extra 112mn mobile money accounts, accessible via WorldRemit 

WorldRemit has added Android Pay to its service, offering a new way for WorldRemit’s Android Pay users to send money internationally and reach millions using mobile money accounts.

Pioneering a mobile-first approach to the US$600bn a year remittance industry, the move sees WorldRemit bringing together the leading players in mobile payments from Silicon Valley and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Launching the global rollout of the service at MoneyConf 2017, WorldRemit will enable Android Pay users to safely and securely send money to +112mn mobile money accounts accessible via its network. The integration will make WorldRemit the only remittance provider offering international payments through Android Pay around the globe.

By connecting directly with Android Pay, WorldRemit customers can transfer money instantly across continents in just 5 taps, without entering credit card or 3DS details. Using mobile money, a recipient customer can then pay for school fees, utility bills and groceries among other things directly from their mobile phones, without the need for 3G or wifi. As Android Pay is supported by industry standard tokenisation, payments are sent with a virtual account number providing an extra layer of security. 

WorldRemit currently sends money to more mobile money accounts than any other operator in the world. The company enables migrants to send money from their smartphones to the mobile phones of the people they love, in over 140 countries to be paid out in cash, paid into a bank account or into a mobile money account.

Alice Newton-Rex, VP of Product at WorldRemit, comments: "Currently 60 per cent of WorldRemit app users are on Android, which is also by far the most popular mobile operating system in the developing world, where 2bn people are still unbanked, but critically half a billion use their mobiles as a bank account.

"This integration with Android Pay is the next logical step of our mobile first approach, and continues our commitment to providing greater financial inclusion."

Pali Bhat, Director, Product Management at Google, said: "We want to make it easier for organisations like WorldRemit to offer a simpler, faster in-app payment solution for their customers. With Android Pay, people will be able to speed through checkout with their Android phones in a few clicks".

PayU has rolled out strategies to intensify efforts to connect businesses to Nigeria’s online payment market 

PayU has rolled out strategies to intensify efforts to connect businesses to Nigeria’s online payment market. Annual online payments in Nigeria is estimated to surpass N200bn (US$635mn) this year from N167bn (US$530mn)  in 2016.

Country Manager of PayU Nigeria, Ms Juliet Nwanguma,  says, “In order to pursue PayU’s aggressive expansion in the online payment market in Nigeria, we have identified businesses that can benefit from our  global expertise across 16 markets where we offer over 250 payment options.”

With over 2.3bn users worldwide, PayU is confident it can help businesses grow their market share and help them to achieve their business objectives.

Data recently released by the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) showed that 5.5 million transactions worth N46.7bn (US$14.8mn) were generated through online sales in the first quarter of 2017. This is an increase in the quarterly average of 3.5mn transactions worth N33billion (US$10.4mn) in 2016. This 58 per cent growth is a clear indication of the increased confidence and preference for online sales amongst Nigerians.

The double-digit growth, according to Nwanguma, is far below the potential of the market for online payments in Nigeria.  

Nwanguma noted that in a country of over 180mn people, consisting of 61mn active bank customers and where e-payment transactions are worth N56 trillion (US$177bn) in a year, the potential for online payments in Nigeria is huge and waiting to be tapped.

She disclosed that the mission of PayU is to leverage on Nigeria’s 97mn active internet users to popularise and increase online payments in Nigeria.

“At PayU, we believe that with the deployment of appropriate strategies and products which are designed to encourage more businesses to adopt online payment, the market in Nigeria can record triple digit growth in both volume and value of online payments. This is the driving philosophy of PayU’s operations in Nigeria” she said.

Since last year when we entered the Nigerian market, we have used our globally tested products such as tokenisation, recurring payments for subscription services and single click payments for faster checkout. Our range of services according to different business categories especially the PayU Easy service allows start-ups to start selling online instantly without the need of a bank account or trading history. ”

“PayU has succeeded in successfully assisting small, medium and large organisations with their online payments. In particular, the robust and flexible features of PayU Plus and PayU Enterprise have assisted merchants to grow and expand their online payment business.” 

Here is a brief overview of the weeks new on Communications Africa, from 29th May - 2nd June 2017