Orascom Telecom recently announced plans to launch mobile banking services via a newly established subsidiary.
The service, which will be launched this year, will allow mobile users to access banking services and make money transfers. Orascom will make the service available to its 70 million customers in the seven countries in which it operates.
Naguib Sawiris, chairman of the Egyptian telecoms group, told the Financial Times that mobile banking is a natural extension of the services it offers and that the company already enjoys a strong customer base to take full advantage.
"It's not something that I'm starting from scratch," Sawiris said. "I have the subscribers. They were just doing e-mail, [text message] and voice. Now I'm going to tell them you can use this for banking."
Mobile banking is thought to become a major revenue bringer in emerging markets, where many people do not have access to bank accounts and seek a convenient and cost-effective solution. Vodafone's service, M-PESA, has already enjoyed widespread acclaim after its run in Kenya, where it picked up 1.6 million customers, and now looks to be rolled-out in Tanzania by Vodacom.
Sawiris said Orascom would create another subsidiary to manage operations in smaller countries.
CLICK HERE TO POST A COMMENT
| 3 stories
For many regional telecom operators, making acquisitions or merging could be the key to their survival.
Taiwanese vendor Carapelli's Impulse NPX-9000 stakes a claim to the low-end of the netbook market.
CRM products are notoriously difficult to differentiate in terms of functionality, so ACN's here to help.
Sanyo Middle East's chief regional officer, Takashi Hirao, on the company's plans to go green.
Dubai-based firm Aroma Software is bringing e-prescribing software support to the medical market.
PalTel has implemented Nortel soft switches as the first step of a major organisation transformation.
SURVEYS & REPORTS
Print this page
Email this to a friend
Discuss this article (0 Comments)
Mobile
