eTranzact, in 2013, company processed over $600 million which accounted for over 1.8 million transactions on PocketMoni and related services.
The Company’s effort in mobile began in 2003 long before mobile money was finally introduced in Nigeria.
Mr Ayo Oladimeji, Head of PocketMoni at eTranzact said that the Company always believed that mobile would be at the forefront of payment innovation and had a dedicated team working on research and development.
This led to pioneering research that kick-started the mobile banking sector in Nigeria and eventually birthed “PocketMoni”, the mobile money service.
PocketMoni was approved by the Central bank of Nigeria in 2012, and has acquired a customer base of about 1.1 million users, with a robust agent network of over 4500 agents across Nigeria, and has leveraged on innovative technology in delivering to the different bands of the financial pyramid.
The service has won a series of awards and grants, the most recent one coming from EFInA, a financial development organisation which is funded by the UK Government’s Department of International Development (DFID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the tune of $250,000.
As part of the terms of the grant, eTranzact will also put in $100,000 and will drive the execution of a mobile money project called the “PocketMoni 500” in North and South Western Nigeria.
According to eTranzact, with low internet penetration a major challenge to the adoption of mobile money in Nigeria, the key value proposition of eTranzact’s PocketMoni is ubiquity; being able to send, receive money and make payments using USSD, SMS, GPRS/lnternet and the web.
Oladimeji, said that security is a key feature that distinguishes PocketMoni from other products, with its seamless two way authentication that ensures fraud is minimized or non-existent.
The company has entered into several partnerships that have positioned it to be better for the population.
It has achieved direct fibre optic connection with 5 GSM and one CDMA operator which ensures that it can withstand high capacity traffic and minimizes transaction failure which has helped deliver premium user experience.
Partnerships with the two biggest international remittance organisations enable users to receive international payments on their mobile devices.
Also, a version of the product called “PocketMoni Global” has been developed to work in over 50 countries and allows airtime recharge, money and bank transfers in those countries.
The Head of PocketMoni at eTranzact added that key to adoption of the product has been the number of platforms available for users to carry out transactions.
“Users can use the USSD/IVR, and Smartphone Apps across all app platforms. Users also get prepaid and debit cards that allows them carry out transactions on ATMs and online.
Speaking on the recent nomination of the Company for awards, he said, “It’s a big honour for us to be nominated in such a prestigious category at the AfricaCom Awards 2014. eTranzact has been in operations since 2003, and early enough our CEO, Mr Valentine Obi who many describe as the Father of Mobile Payments in Nigeria, understood the importance of leveraging technology to make payments easy.
“This led to many of the innovative offerings that eTranzact has come up with over the years.At various times, we had gone to the Central Bank with several electronic payment initiatives, but the state of technology at that time slowed down the kick off of those initiatives, but with improved technology and the attentiveness of the Federal Government and CBN, today the cashless policy is becoming a reality”.
He added that the Company believes this is only the beginning and look forward to achieving more greatness with its mobile money service.