Case Study: Kopo Kopo Facilitates Mobile Payments in Kenya

GSMA Intelligence recently released a case study of Kopo Kopo in Kenya where they set out to provide tools to small and medium businesses to enable them to accept mobile money payments and to take advantage of related value added services that would allow them to grow. Kenya is home to the most advanced mobile

Kenya’s Financial Service Industry to Introduce Paperless Transactions

Sybrin has partnered with the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) for paperless IT solutions designed to lead to efficient operations, lower costs, improved compliance and better knowledge management. Speaking during a one-day conference for its customers in Nairobi, Daniel Parreira, sales director of Sybrin Systems Africa, said the paperless

Equity Bank and VFX Launch Direct Money Transfer Service from UK

Equity Bank Group in Kenya and VFX Financial PLC in the UK have partnered to launch Equity Direct a real-time, cross border, multicurrency money transfer service from the UK to Kenya. The service will enable individuals and corporates in the UK to send money to any account at Equity Bank in the region. The service

KCB Set to Roll Out Islamic Banking Solutions

KCB Group has commenced the process of rolling out Islamic Banking solutions in the country as part of its financial inclusion agenda. The innovative products and services will be in consistent with the principles of Islamic Sharia Law. “The bank is in advanced stages to make this a reality and Sharia Compliant Board or Sharia

Safaricom’s M-Pesa Marks Seventh Anniversary

Kenyan leading mobile money transfer service M-Pesa has marked its seventh anniversary since its launch in March 2007, with Safaricom saying the service has touched the lives of many Kenyans. “M-Pesa has given Kenya something to be proud of, and made a difference in the lives of ordinary people,” said Safaricom chief executive officer (CEO)

Currencies Acceptable in All EAC States

Residents of Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania will now be able to travel with their respective national currencies in other East African Community (EAC) countries and make digital cross-border cash transactions in real time. The new development comes through the just launched East African Community project on Payment and Settlement Systems Integration Programme (PSSIP)

Bank of Africa Deploys Credit Risk Management Solution for EA

Bank of Africa subsidiaries in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania will from now on use a new credit management system in a bid to curb losses that arise from defaulted loans. Known as CreditQuest, the software is from Swiss-based banking and IT consulting firm SOFGEN and will enable the bank to have a centralised view of

NIC Bank Group Profits Up by 33 Per Cent

NIC Bank Group Ltd. has reported a Shs 3.4 billion Profit Before Tax for the 9 months ended September 30, 2012 representing an increase of 33% from Shs 2.6 billion registered during the same period last year. Announcing the results, the Group Managing Director, Mr. James Macharia, said: “The financial results demonstrate the resilience of

Equity Bank Group’s Investments Boosts Profits by 11% in 2013

Equity Bank Group’s investments in IT, growth in the number of customers and branch upgrades to cater for the growing SME segment have boosted 2013 profit before tax by 11 percent to Kshs 19.15 billion up from Kshs 17.29 billion the previous year. Cost to income ratio reduced to 48.5% in 2013 and NPLs reduced

Equity Bank Applies for Telecoms Licence

Kenya’s Equity Bank of Kenya has applied for a licence to start mobile phone operations, though it is yet to be approved by the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK). The Daily Nation reports the bank is looking to become a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), meaning it would operate using an existing Mobile Network Operator