The Latest in African Fintech 2017 and Forecasts for 2018
As of August 2017, African fintech startups have raised over $100 million in investment. And, we don’t see them slowing down anytime soon. There are over 300 fintech startups active in Africa, with over 31% in South Africa, followed by Nigeria and Kenya. Emerging countries with increased fintech startup activity include Ghana and Cameroon. Startups […]
The eCommerce and Digital Payments Landscape in Mozambique
Mozambique, which is approximately 3 times as large as Great Britain, is divided into 154 districts. As of 2016, only 72 of these districts had bank branches in them. The Mozambique government and commercial banks in the country have undertaken to open at least one branch per district, by 2019. Sub-Saharan Africa suffers from a […]
The Pros and Cons of Using a Debit Card
Debit cards are an extremely popular payment card type that are often issued by major payment processors, such as MasterCard. According to Statista, as of 2017 there were 751 million MasterCard debit cards in circulation worldwide. A debit card, in contrast to a credit card, deducts money from your checking account as soon as you […]
The Development of the mVisa Payment Option
mVisa is an exciting digital payment method which offers simple implementation, security and interoperability between banks and mobile networks. It was first introduced in a pilot with Indian banks in October of 2015, followed by expansion in that market and introduction in Kenya in 2016. The mVisa payment option utilizes QR codes, which are scanned […]
Understanding Dynamic Currency Conversion – A Presentation
Dynamic currency conversion (DCC) is a feature that allows credit card holders to pay for products and services abroad with their local currency. This means that if an American travelling internationally chooses to use his or her credit card to pay for say, hotel accomodation, he or she will be given the choice of being […]
Mobile Payments Penetration and the State of Digital Payments in Zimbabwe
According to a study carried out in 2014, only 30% of the Zimbabwean population had accounts in formal banks. The remaining 70% have traditionally shied away from Zimbabwe’s banking industry. While many Sub-Saharan countries have a large portion of unbanked citizens, Zimbabwe’s percentage of unbanked is higher than the regional average of 65%. In 2008-2009, […]
Why the Same Transaction is Successfully Processed By One Provider, But Not Another
Let’s take a typical scenario. A customer from Brazil tries to buy a product from an Africa-based tourism website. The transaction is declined. Then, he tries to buy the same product from another Africa-based tourism website, and the transaction is successfully processed. What causes the transaction to be successful on one website but not another? […]
25 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Digital Payments But Should
Thanks to technological advances and the ability to accept digital payments, merchants can offer multiple payment options to customers all over the world. However, the global payment processing landscape has become more complicated, involving multiple steps and numerous service providers. No doubt, as a merchant, you’ve come across unfamiliar terminology and there may be some […]
5 Ways African Shop Owners Can Boost Sales
Looking to increase your conversions and sales? In today’s digital era there are a host of new techniques that will help you grow your profits. Here are the top 5 ways African shop owners can boost sales, gain new customers and retain existing ones : Adopt advanced payment solutions Businesses with advanced payment solutions are able to […]
The Top 5 Challenges in Online Payments – Smart presentation
In today’s day and age both consumers and online merchants naturally assume that buying and selling online should be an easy, seamless and safe process. However, most people don’t understand the intricacies that go into ecommerce transactions and how complicated they can actually be. A typical ecommerce transaction triggers complex automated processes that involve downstream […]