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South Africa : Airtel Partners Ecobank to Offer M-Banking
Publish Date : 05-Oct-2013
Bharti Airtel ("Airtel"), a prominent global telecommunications services provider with setups in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, has signed up a partnership with Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (Ecobank), the leading pan-African banking group with presence in 34 countries in Africa, to provide Airtel Money across nine African countries where Airtel also has processes.
With the help of agreement, millions of Airtel and Ecobank customers across Africa will be able to access safe, convenient and instant mobile financial services.
The partnership between Airtel and Ecobank is at present effective in 7 African countries, viz. Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Niger, Zambia and Kenya. Airtel Money will also be rolled out in Gabon and Sierra Leone later this month.
The partnership allows Airtel customers to perform a variety of mobile transactions. This offering which is dependent on regulatory approval in each market, facilitates Airtel Money deposits and withdrawals at any Ecobank branch, utility bill payments and two-way money transfers between Airtel Money and Ecobank. Customers will besides be able to see their bank account balances and statements in real time via Airtel Money.
Patrick Akinwuntan, Ecobank's Group Executive Director, Domestic Bank said,"Ecobank is committed to bringing financial services to all Africans including the unbanked and under banked through collaboration with major partner-Telcos like Airtel”. "All that is required to enjoy this service is an Ecobank account and an Airtel line registered on Airtel Money in markets where regulatory approvals are in place".
Mr. Akinwuntan further stated that the partnership's extensive reach affords customer convenience, particularly for cross-border transactions and remittances across Africa.
Chidi Okpala, the Director of Airtel Money Africa, said: "This partnership is a further demonstration of Airtel Africa's commitment to provide affordable, simple and innovative solutions for our consumers across Africa."
He added: "At Airtel, we will continue to offer locally relevant M-Commerce solutions with more partners like Ecobank in order to enhance the daily lives of our customers."
