In 2010, ZAP (now Airtel Money) was introduced by Airtel Ghana to provide customers with fast, safe and convenient means of sending and receiving money via their mobile phones.
Since its introduction, Airtel Money has led the industry – innovating at scale to provide unparalleled services to customers.
This innovation has served customers well and leading the way for more Ghanaians to be financially included and supporting the drive towards a cash-lite economy.
Why the growing demand for Airtel Money?
From 2010 to 2015, registered customer base for Airtel Money grew from 200,000 to 4 million representing 2000% growth in 5 years.
Specifically in July, 2015, the Smartphone Network announced that registered Airtel Money customers had crossed the 2 million mark – a substantive 25% growth from May 2015 to June 2015. This makes Airtel Money the platform with the highest adoption rate in the industry.
Airtel Money’s growth has been propelled primarily by the convenience it provides and underpinned by a stable and secured network.
The success is also attributable to Airtel Ghana’s closeness to the customer which enables it to anticipate customer needs and to innovate ahead of the curve to provide unrivalled product and services offering to the customer.
Rosy Fynn, Marketing and Airtel Money Director at Airtel Ghana said of the phenomenal growth,
“The 2 million customer milestone goes beyond mere numbers. It shatters the myths about how to scale social innovation in banking to expand financial inclusion by offering a simple and affordable model to reach out to millions of Ghanaians who want to save or transact in a fast, convenient and reliable manner. What we have here is a solution that clearly leads in innovation, speed and reliability – providing the customer not only with unmatched convenience and control but also clearly leading the way to financial inclusion for many Ghanaians”.
Airtel Money has shown a lot of innovation and flexibility in its product offerings. The most recent being the introduction of ‘Tap and Pay’ near field communications (NFC) technology that provides ease, speed and security for customers to pay for goods and services with just a tap of their mobile phones on NFC enabled payment devices in shops and outlets across the country.
What differentiates Airtel Money from the pack?
Generally, the ability to anticipate and innovate to meet customer needs ensures Airtel Money is clearly differentiated from other offerings on the market.
For instance, the Tap ‘N’ Pay innovation positions Airtel Money as the smartest way to pay in Ghana – empowering consumers to avoid the inconveniences of long queues and having to carry around huge sums of money to pay for goods and services.
Customers can pick up their free Airtel Money Tap ‘N’ Pay sticker from any Airtel shop to start enjoying this smart payment solution from Airtel.
Airtel Money is also the first to provide Cardless ATM services – which enables customers to cash out at partner bank’s ATMs if they prefer that to cashing out from an Airtel Money agent.
Another first for Airtel Money customers was the convenience of being able to link their Airtel Money wallets to their bank accounts.
This service enables customers to move funds between their wallets and bank accounts without walking to the banking hall. This means that customers can pay for goods and services with ease without carrying cash around.
Another area of differentiation is that transfers between Airtel Money wallets are free of all charges – another industry first.
This coupled with the fact that Airtel Money provides the most competitive transaction charges on all other services makes it stand out from the pack.
Airtel Money clearly leads in creativity, innovation and convenience.
Leading the way in financial inclusion through strategic partnerships
Formal banking services were introduced in Ghana in the late 19th Century. Till date it is estimated that circa 34% of Ghanaians have active accounts with banks – meaning over 60% of Ghanaians are unbanked or under-banked.
According to a recent report by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), housed at the World Bank, Financial Inclusion has expanded substantially in the last five years in the country “driven by nonbank format, notably mobile money”.
The report indicates 48% of Ghanaians have financial accounts, out of this, 34% have bank accounts, 20% registered mobile money accounts and 8% nonbank accounts.
According to the report “mobile money is now arguably the most accessible form of financial service, where about 99% of Ghanaians are aware of at least one provider and 29% have used mobile money”.
Airtel Money has established itself as a clear industry leader in fostering strategic alliances and partnerships that ensures that increasingly many more Ghanaians become financially included.
For instance Airtel Money has entered into strategic partnership with key financial institutions including Standard Chartered Bank, via the Straight2Bank Wallet with Airtel Money.
The partnership was launched in October 2015 to extend simplified banking services to the unbanked across the country.
The partnership enables corporations, governments and development organisations to make cashless payments to both banked and unbanked individuals.
Airtel Money has also partnered with Zeepay, a Startup, and the Ashanti Regional Agricultural District to provide a mobile money payment ecosystem.
The Ashanti Regional Agricultural District is using Zeepay’s platform to register some 100,000 farmers to assist with the dissemination of information under the government’s e-agriculture project.
The partnership allows actors within the value chain to access payments and collections at the community level.
Airtel Money’s partnership with the West African Examination Council (WAEC) offers candidates a wide array of services such as registering online, checking and printing results, attestation and verification of results anywhere, anytime making payments through the Airtel Money platform.
Nationwide availability – enabling M-commerce
Today, with a national distribution of over 13,000 agents and more than 2 million registered customers, Airtel Money is amongst the largest financial platforms in the country and is playing a vital role in enabling m-commerce and e-commerce.
Through the Airtel Money platform, and with support from partners, Airtel Ghana is bringing financial services to the neigbourhoods and doorsteps of Ghanaians across the country.