The Paytech Show 6.01: Payments in Africa – Financial Mobility In The Sub Sahara Smart Cities & Mobile Payments

“Where is the future? We’re talking about biometrics, we’re talking about artificial intelligence”

Frank Molla, Managing Director & Head of Sub Sahara Africa, BPC Banking Technologies

Banking, payments, and commerce, represent the bedrock of a nation’s economy. Daily payments and transactions are now fundamental to the way we live now, and the introduction of digital payment platforms and mobile apps has instigated that. This is no more true than in the financial evolution of Payments in Africa.

In this episode of the Paytech Show, we are joined by Frank Molla, the Managing Director & Head of Sub Sahara Africa at BPC Banking Technologies. Here, we discuss the extent to which digital payments have changed the financial landscape of the West Africa region, and the continued growth it aspires to with the concept of smart cities and super apps.

“Where is the future? We’re talking about biometrics, we’re talking about artificial intelligence,” said Molla. “Think of connecting a village to a city, a city to a region, a region to other regions, and then the whole world. This is the beauty of smart cities.

“From what we see as BPC and from what smart cities are concerned, leveraging sensors, leveraging data and analytics, it’s all making it easier for every other person.”

BPC’s vision is one of interconnectedness. Through the use of technology in payments, underserved communities across the Sub Sahara, and the world, will not be shut out from accessing the financial services they need to live.

“Today almost 60-70% are inside the financial system so, M-Pesa has become at the centre of their lives”

Diego Gutierrez, Chief Officer International Markets, Vodacom Group

We also caught up withVodacom Groups Chief Officer International Markets, Diego Gutierrez. Speaking on Vodacoms flagship product, M-Pesa, Gutierrez tells us “M-Pesa is the biggest fintech in Africa, we have over 50 million customers on the continent”. On what M-Pesa has enabled in an ecosystem where payments access to banking was historically difficult, Gutierrez tells us “It’s allowed them to be part of the banking system, before M-pesa arrived to these markets only around 10-15% of the people were banked; today almost 60-70% are inside the financial system”

“Now they cannot only do payments, they can send peer-to-peer payments to each other, they can pay for services, they can get loans, they can save money and have accesss to buy products through a network of merchants who take payments in M-Pesa, so, M-Pesa has become at the centre of their lives”