Nedbank looks to refresh M-Pesa
Nedbank says it aims to re-launch its mobile money service, M-Pesa, onto a new IT platform that will interface directly into banks.
Nedbank launched M-Pesa in partnership with Vodacom in August 2010, and now boasts more than 1.2 million registered users.
“Nedbank and Vodacom have drawn valuable learnings and insights from the M-Pesa roll-out and the M-Pesa product is being re-launched in the near future onto a new IT platform,”said Ilze Wagener, head of digital innovation and payments at Nedbank.
“[The platform] will interface directly into banks and will include the expansion of the distribution channel to add on more points of sale and more transactional capabilities,” she said.
Wagener admitted that building a successful mobile money program in South Africa “has proven to be more challenging than in other markets due to the integrated need in our mixed economy to move money from bank accounts to an electronic wallet directly and the associated ability to use those funds in everyday life”.
“We’ve found the relatively high sophistication of the Banking Industry in South Africa and the availability of viable alternatives to be a limiting factor,” the digital lead said.
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