Mobile payments and other phone-based transactions represent a must-win opportunity for banks in Africa. The estimated market in facilitating payments alone is $500bn and, providing access to energy, healthcare, education and transportation, offers new business prospects. By using digital platforms, it offers the potential to develop more holistic solutions that solve deep-rooted customer friction points for African consumers.
As African economies continue to evolve and with the Covid-19 crisis rapidly raising peoples’ interest and need for contactless transactions, the mobile device will become the payment vehicle of first resort – and banks need to embrace this reality to forge a path to success. There are five potential strategies that banks in Africa may adopt to harness the possibilities that mobile payments present – depending on the bank’s size, capabilities, technological experience, and the role that it might play in its local or regional business ecosystem.