Link Mobile Money prepaid cards, card payments

Imagine a fashion influencer with millions of YouTube subscribers trying to monetize her content online and at the same time buy a Spotify subscription to download Rihanna’s latest hit song.

Normally, the location of the person would be irrelevant to complete the process, and all they would need to complete the transaction is their phone.

But according to Dare Okoudjou, depending on whether she is in Amsterdam or Lusaka, Zambia, the ability to make transparent international payments will be very different, with hundreds of millions of African-based consumers getting the small end of the stick.

MFS Africa exists to correct this imbalance, Okoudjou, founder and CEO of MFS AfricaPYMNTS said in an interview, emphasizing that no one should be coerced because of where they are.

Read more: Payments company MFS Africa buys global FinTech technology partners from the United States

To achieve this, the pan-African company, which reaches more than 400 million mobile money wallets in 27 African countries, recently announced the acquisition of US FinTech Global Technology Partners (GTP) to provide access to global companies like Netflix and Amazon to millions of people in Africa. do not have the card credentials to conduct online transactions.

Thanks to this agreement, consumers and merchants in the region who store money on mobile phones or digital wallets can now obtain a prepaid virtual card to make transparent card payments to these global companies that have missed them. for years.

Read also: MFS Africa Reaches Most Sub-Saharan Market with 320 Million Mobile Money Wallets

The aim is to build on the widely used mobile wallet solution, which he says will be the most common form of current account in Africa, leveraging the acquisition of GTP to easily add account information. identification with these accounts.

“[That way] if i need to subscribe to netflix, netflix doesn’t have to do the hard work of accepting or adapting the user interface to accept mobile money. I can just put in my Visa or MasterCard credentials and MFS Africa acting as the issuing bank can authorize this transaction and debit the money,” he explained.

The FinTech company also recently worked with Spotify to localize the streaming company’s offering and help them accept mobile payments from Kenya, Uganda and South Africa using MFS Africa’s infrastructure.

Africa to the World, the World to Africa

In 2019, MFS Africa became the first non-bank financial institution to connect to the Visa network, distributing Visa payment credentials to consumers and businesses in several African markets.

But according to Okoudjou, moving as a non-bank across Africa to become a large-scale issuer was quite difficult to implement, which led the Africa-focused company to acquire GTP.

Also, while Visa was able to grant access to their network, the company still needed a processor to facilitate transactions, which is another reason why buying GTP was important to build their capacity. to process both Visa and Mastercard payments, he explained further.

See also: M-Pesa partners with Visa for virtual card payments in Africa

Going forward, Okoudjou predicts that more and more payment solutions that facilitate the smooth flow of currency in and out of mobile wallets will emerge, driving adoption of cross-border transactions not only in Africa, but also helping to connect “l Africa to the world or the world to Africa.

Learn more: MFS Africa acquires Baxi’s parent company, Capricorn Digital

Turkey, for example, is one of those countries with an increasing growth in cross-border transactions, he noted, adding that the amount of demand they receive from people who want to make payments in Turkey is staggering due to the country’s extensive trade ties with several other countries. “Turkey is almost becoming a new Dubai for many Africans,” he said.

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