Zain enhances mobile banking services in Africa through Zap
- World first as Zap customers can send and receive money directly from banks anywhere in the world
- Service to be available to over 100 million people in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda
Picture left to right: Bhartesh Shah (Regional Head of Shared Distribution Standard Chartered), Chris Gabriel (CEO Zain Africa) and Rene Meza (Managing Director Zain Kenya) share a joke at today's regional launch of Zap international banking service in Nairobi. A high resolution version can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Nairobi, Kenya; Kampala, Uganda – 23 September 2009
Leading mobile telecommunications provider Zain today announces the revolutionary enhancement of Zap, its rapidly expanding mobile banking service currently available to over 100 million people in East Africa and run in partnership with CitiBank and Standard Chartered Bank. From today Zap customers can swiftly and securely receive money from any bank account around the world and easily send money to any bank in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. This is the first time in the world any mobile bank account has been configured so that its users can receive funds from anywhere in the world directly to their mobile handset as well as send funds directly to their Bank accounts.
In addition Zap allows customers to use their mobile phone 24 hours a day to:
- Manage their bank accounts
- Pay for goods and services and settle their utility bills
- Receive Zap money - and send Zap money to their friends and family
- Top up their airtime account - or top up someone else's
- Check their balance and keep on top of their payments
These services are offered with the highest levels of the security through the convenience of a simple and intuitive end user interface. Dr. Saad Al Barrak, Zain Group’s Chief Executive Officer said: "This enhancement of Zap is another world first from Zain. It means that our customers in remote towns and villages as well as those in the cities can receive money from wherever in the world their business colleagues or family and friends are. Ability to send money from the mobile phone to any bank account in East Africa will enable businesses to perform more efficiently. This will be of great assistance to all of our customers to enhance their livelihood fulfilling our brand promise of ‘A Wonderful World’.”
Zap provides the most comprehensive and accessible package of mobile banking features currently available on the African continent providing millions of people with access to banking for the very first time. It has been available in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda for six months and will be rolled out across all Zain operations.
Zap customers in East Africa use the service to pay for their electricity and water bills, pay for petrol at Shell and Total stations, settle their satellite television bills with DSTV and pay for their groceries. The service is easy to use and has been used by more than 5 million people since it was launched. Zap is used by major international businesses in the region to quickly settle payments with distributors enabling them to reduce the cash carried in transit from upcountry shops and offices thereby reducing their insurance costs and enabling them to secure their funds within seconds.
The Zap service is included as part of Zain’s pioneering ‘One Network’ service, meaning that customers will be able to manage their Zap accounts even while away from the home country. One Network allows travelling customers to move across geographic borders without roaming surcharges, recharge their mobile phones with locally purchased top up cards and receive calls for free.
Zap provides customers with increased security and flexibility, reducing the need to carry cash and ensuring payments between friends and family remain secure. A password is needed for each transaction and the service is protected through a state-of-the-art security application. Customers will also benefit from being able to access the service 24 hours a day, seven days a week through their handset, providing the convenience of accessing cash anytime, anywhere.
Zain customers can sign-up for free for the new Zap services by completing an application form and handing it over to registered Zain agents in tens of thousands of villages, towns and cities across East Africa. Zain will then provide the customer with a mobile wallet, which will allow them to use their mobile phone in much the same way as a bank account debit card and manage their money through their handset. The service is supported on all handsets including ultra low cost handsets (ULCH) which Zain is successfully rolling out across the continent.
Zain and its international and regional banking partners are confident that Zap will increase access to banking services in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, where formal banking services are largely restricted to urban populations. Eighty per cent of Kenya's[1] and ninety-five per cent of Tanzania's and Uganda's populations[2] do not have currently have access to banking services.
Zain, in partnership with Citigroup and Standard Chartered Bank, is ensuring that services meet all the required in Country and International banking regulations as stipulated by respective Central Banks. In addition Zain’s banking partners will facilitate payments and settlement processes in accordance with the terms and conditions agreed with their national banking regulations.
Standard Chartered Bank’s Head of Consumer Banking, East Africa, Kariuki Ngari said, "This service will enable families and businesses to access funds from around the world very swiftly and very securely. It has the potential to transform banking in Africa and will help overcome many of the obstacles presented by providing banking services to remote and rural communities who are now able to access global funds swiftly. We're proud to be working with Zain at the forefront of this mobile banking revolution. The launch of our partnership with Zain compliments our bank's philosophy of striving to meet customer needs and lifestyles by offering not only products and services but also delivery channels that are in line with current and anticipated future needs. We are conscious of the increasingly sophisticated needs of our customers who require instant and straightforward access to service their financial needs”.
Sridhar Srinivasan, Global Transaction Services Head, Sub-Saharan Africa, Citi, said: “We are proud to be part of this initiative that will transform the banking environment in East Africa allowing people to access financial services in all the villages and towns across the country. This new Zap offering is another innovation which will extend the reach of financial services to every corner of this country and stimulate the payments system through accessible mobile technology. Our successful partnership with Zain enabling this groundbreaking service is a great testament of our commitment to the economic development of the countries where we operate, by promoting financial inclusion.”
Chris Gabriel, CEO of Zain Africa said: "By enabling people to receive money in their homes at any time of day from businesses and family anywhere in the world Zain is making its customers lives easier. For example students can receive school fees from relatives located abroad and businessmen can receive payments for goods before shipment using their mobile phones as mobile wallets. This service is enabling Zain to deliver lasting benefits not just for our customers, but also for the economies of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda."
Zain plans to roll-out the enhanced Zap service to all its operations as part of its aim to transform the use of money. Zain was the first mobile company to introduce phone-to-phone airtime credit transfer service in 2005 (Me2U). Currently over US$10 million worth of airtime transfers take place in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda each month.
Zain is currently the third largest mobile network in the world in terms of geographic presence, with a commercial footprint in 24 countries spread across the Middle East and Africa and providing mobile voice and data services to over 69.5 million active customers as at 30 June 2009.
-ENDS-
For more information, please contact:
Mwambu Wanendeya
Communications Director – Africa
Zain Group
Notes to editors
About Zain
Zain is a leading telecommunications operator across the Middle East and Africa providing mobile voice and data services to 69.5 million active customers as at 30 June 2009. In terms of country footprint, Zain is the 3rd largest mobile operator in the world with a commercial presence in 24 countries.
Zain operates in the following countries: Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Palestine (currently known as Paltel Group), Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. In Lebanon, the company manages ‘mtc-touch’ on behalf of the government. In Morocco, Zain owns 31% of Wana Telecom through a joint venture.
Zain offers innovative services in its markets such as ‘One Network’, the world’s first borderless mobile telecommunications network enabling customers when abroad to receive calls and sms without charge and to make voice and data calls at local rates throughout 20 countries in Africa and the Middle East. This service allows a customer to top up airtime in one’s home country or from more than 1,000,000 outlets within Zain’s One Network footprint.
The Zain brand is wholly owned by Mobile Telecommunications Company KSC, which is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (Stock ticker: ZAIN). Zain is listed in the Financial Times’ Global 500 Index which ranks the world’s largest companies based on market capitalization (http://www.ft.com/reports/ft5002008). Zain aims to become one of the top ten mobile operators in the world by end of the year 2011. For more, please visit www.zain.com or email info@zain.com
About Standard Chartered
Standard Chartered PLC, listed on both London and Hong Kong stock exchanges, ranks among the top 25 companies in the FTSE-100 by market capitalisation. The London-headquartered Group has operated for over 150 years in some of the world's most dynamic markets, leading the way in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Its income and profits have more than doubled over the last five years primarily as a result of organic growth and supplemented by acquisitions.
Standard Chartered aspires to be the best international bank for its customers across its markets. The Bank derives more than 90 per cent of its operating income and profits from Asia, Africa and the Middle East, generated from its Wholesale and Consumer Banking businesses. The Group has around 1,750 branches and outlets located in over 70 countries. The extraordinary growth of its markets and businesses creates exciting and challenging international career opportunities.
Leading by example to be the right partner for its stakeholders, the Group is committed to building a sustainable business over the long term and is trusted worldwide for upholding high standards of corporate governance, social responsibility, environmental protection and employee diversity. It employs 75,000 people, nearly half of whom are women. The Group's employees are of 115 nationalities, of which 60 are represented among senior management.
About Citigroup
Global Transaction Services, a division of Citi’s Institutional Clients Group, offers integrated cash management, trade, and securities and fund services to multinational corporations, financial institutions and public sector organizations around the world. With a network that spans more than 140 countries, Citi's Global Transaction Services supports over 65,000 clients. As of the 4th quarter of 2008, it held on average $292 billion in liability balances and $10.7 trillion in assets under custody.
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi’s major brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney, Banamex, and Nikko. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.
[1] Source: 'Why m-banking and m-payments is potentially transformational and is a key tool in poverty alleviation, SJB Gamos 2006'
[2] Source: Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting 'Banking the Unbanked' report
