The Heartbleed Bug is a serious vulnerability in the popular OpenSSL cryptographic software library. This weakness allows stealing the information protected, under normal conditions, by the SSL/TLS encryption used to secure the Internet. SSL/TLS provides communication security and privacy over the Internet for applications such as online payments, web, email, instant messaging (IM) and some
MasterCard has announced the licensing of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) to issue MasterCard debit, credit and prepaid cards in Kenya. The collaboration is expected to increase the adoption of electronic payments in the country, especially in the retail banking sector. James Wainaina, Vice President and Area Business Head, MasterCard East Africa said: “MasterCard’s vision for
In a bid to back up government’s efforts in enhancing financial inclusion, the CRDB Bank has been investing heavily in expansion of its network to take services closer to customers. Tanzania recently launched the national financial inclusion framework to focus on priorities like payment platforms, infrastructure and consumer protection, with an overall goal of giving
Nairobi county governor Dr Evans Kidero has signed an agreement with online payment platform JamboPay in a move to stamp out corruption in revenue collection in Kenya’s capital. The e-payment platform will be accessible through mobile phones, online, and physical agents. In the agreement signed at City Hall with Danson Muchemi, JamboPay chief executive officer
In a recent article by the Mail and Guardian newspaper Informal consensus within the private sector saw South Africa ranked third, behind Russia and China in terms of cybercrime. It is with this in mind that the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) has issued a warning to banking customers about email hacking and
Unified Payment Services Limited, the leading Payments Industry Service Provider announces the introduction of a new service platform, Payarena. Payarena offers customers access to Value Added Services which include purchase of Airtime (Virtual Top Up, Prepaid PINs, Blackberry subscriptions, Data bundle plans etc.) for all Telcos in Nigeria; payment of bills to major service providers
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
MTN Group and Bharti Airtel has announced a cross-border remittance partnership that seeks to remove the hassles of transferring money between Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso for the operators’ Mobile Money customers on either side of the border. The landmark partnership will enable Mobile Money customers of MTN Ivory Coast and Airtel in Burkina Faso
South Africa’s ABSA bank has announced the launch of its Payment Pebble, a device that allows businesses and vendors to accept card payments through a smartphone. The device allows businesses to accept chip-and-PIN and magstripe-and-PIN payments from Mastercard and Visa cardholders. “The Payment Pebble is a compact, mobile device that simply plugs into the audio
Nigeria has become the largest economy in Africa and 26th largest in the world following the rebasing of its Gross Domestic Product from 1990 to 2010 constant prices. Following the recalculation, the Statistician General of the Federation announced on Friday, April 4 that the country’s GDP emerged at $590.9 billion in 2013 up from $285.56
