Truecaller Acquires Chillr, Targets Sub-Sahara Africa’s Mobile Payment Market

Image

By Dipo Olowookere

As part of its determination to further boost growth and expand its operations, Truecaller has announced a strategic investment into the payment space by acquiring Chillr, India’s first multi-bank payments app launched in 2014.

This acquisition comes after Truecaller announced in March 2017 its intention to foray into the digital payments segment in India.

Truecaller started as a caller ID and spam blocking app for smartphones, but over the years Truecaller has transformed to a full fledge communication app and has become one of the fastest growing consumer apps in Africa and has consistently been topping the App Store Charts across the continent.

Commenting on the deal, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Truecaller, Nami Zarringhalam, stated that, “Since launching Truecaller Pay in India in 2017, we’ve seen an increasing number of use cases to make the lives of our users in India easier.

“We see a lot of synergies and growth patterns in Sub-Sahara Africa, therefore we think it make sense to explore the digital payment space more seriously.”

With the launch of Truecaller Pay 2.0, the company has brought Banking and Payments features to the forefront of its app, and in the coming months Truecaller is planning on rolling out Credit & other financial services to the masses in a mobile-first way in India. The company is now looking at ways to enter the payment space in Sub-Sahara Africa.

Earlier this year, Truecaller opened up their first office in Nairobi to expand in Sub-Sahara Africa and recruited Zakaria Hersi as Director of Partnerships for Africa. In his position, Zakaria has been spearheading Truecaller’s expansion in the region and forging partnerships with various eco-system players.

Share
More Stories
Image
20-January-2020

NOVA Merchant Bank Picked to Collect Customs Duty

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has appointed NOVA Merchant Bank as a duty collecting bank. This development will enable the young bank handle duty payments for its clients in addition to process and issue custom bonds along with guarantees on their behalf. A statement issued by the financial institution said this is in fulfilment of its commitment to constantly find new ways to serve its customers better. The bank now has the authorisation to collect import, excise and other duties for the customs. “We are excited about this appointment because it would enhance efficiency and improve turnaround

Image
06-March-2020

Cinema Operators in Nigeria Records 25% Drop in February 2020

By Adedapo Adesanya There was a 25 percent drop in total amount spent by Nigerians at the cinemas in the month of February, data from the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN), has revealed. In January 2020, the sector generated higher revenue from movie lovers, but in the month of February, a total of N412.05 million was raked, about N139.94 million (25 percent) lesser than the N551.99 million spent in the first month of this year. Year-on-year, this figure was 35.3 percent higher as Nigerians spent N267 million at the movies in February 2019. It was disclosed that 360,928 persons

Image
30-March-2020

Stanbic IBTC Gives Succour to Abule Ado Victims

More funds to support victims of the fire explosion in the early hours of Sunday, March 15, 2020 at the Abule Ado axis of Lagos State have continued to come in. The latest is from Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, a member of Standard Bank Group. The firm, in line with its status as a responsible corporate organisation, has donated to the Abule Ado Emergency Relief Fund set up by the Lagos State government to assist victims of the unfortunate incident, which claimed some lives and left numerous properties destroyed. In his message to the Chairman of the Fund, the head

Image
24-July-2020

National Diaspora Day: Ecobank Waives Charges on Rapidtransfer

By Modupe Gbadeyanka To celebrate this year’s National Diaspora Day on Saturday, July 25, 2020, the management of Ecobank Nigeria has announced waiving charges on the Rapidtransfer App. A statement from the foremost financial institution said money transfers from the mobile application will attract zero fees from now till October 31, 2020. This is part of Ecobank Nigeria’s way of supporting the federal government, which set aside July 25 of every year as the National Diaspora Day in recognition of the contributions of Nigerians living outside the country towards the development of their homeland. The Rapidtransfer app is Ecobank’s proprietary

Image
19-February-2019

Unity Bank Picks CBN Development Finance Award

By Dipo Olowookere Unity Bank Plc has received the ‘2018 Best Participating Bank in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Development Finance activities award’ in Jigawa State. This is coming barely two months after the financial institution won two highly coveted award; namely, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) 2018 sustainable banking award for ‘Sustainable Transaction of the Year in Agriculture’ and Presidential Award in recognition of the Bank’s participation under the Anchor Borrowers Programme. It was gathered that Unity Bank won the latest award at the Dutse Bankers Forum organized by the CBN bringing together financial stakeholders in the

Image
17-February-2019

Nigeria Outlines Strategies to Boost Economic Ties with Russia

By Kester Kenn Klomegah Nigeria is an economic powerhouse in West African region. As it is publicly known, Nigeria is one of the Africa’s fastest growing economies and it boosts the largest population. Under President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria has taken practical steps to continue bolstering economic and strategic ties with Russia. Interestingly, Russia and Nigeria’s two-way trade remains minimal, far below expected level, given the fact that Russia is the biggest market in the Eurasian region and Nigeria the biggest market in Africa. Relations between Nigeria and Russia can be traced back to the former Union of the Soviet of

Image
03-January-2017

Lagos Permanent Secretary Tasks Staff on Effective Service Delivery

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Permanent Secretary of Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mr Fola Adeyemi, has called on the staff of the Ministry to be more effective in the discharge of their duties to residents of the State, saying that the destiny of over 20 million Lagosians rests on the effectiveness of the State Public Service. The Permanent Secretary, who made the call today while speaking at the first day of the year prayer and praise session held at the Conference Room of the Ministry, implored staff to strive more towards excellent service delivery. He said that the pace

Ad
Ad
Recent Stories
Image
08-December-2023

PZ Cussons Nigeria Publishes List of 61,628 Shareholders With Unclaimed Dividends

By Aduragbemi Omiyale One of the players in the personal healthcare and consumer goods sectors, PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, has published a list of its shareholders with unclaimed dividends. Unclaimed dividends are cash rewards given to investors, mainly from the profits from the company’s operations, but are yet to be collected by the beneficiaries. This has been a major source of sleepless nights for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is working to bring down the number of unclaimed dividends. It has been reported that the value of unclaimed dividends in the nation’s stock market is over N185 billion.

Image
08-December-2023

CBN Raises Alarm on Fake Naira Notes, Threatens Prosecution

By Adedapo Adesanya The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has cautioned Nigerians to be wary of fake Naira notes currently in circulation, vowing to prosecute those engaged in the illicit acts. The apex bank in a release signed by Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali, the acting Director of Corporate Communications, said the counterfeit notes have been spread by some individuals for transactions in food markets and other places where commerce takes place across the country, noting that this is a punishable offence. “The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to the circulation of counterfeit banknotes, especially

Image
08-December-2023

Nigeria’s Crude Output Falls 30,000 Barrels Daily to 1.43mbpd in November

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigerian crude output fell by 30,000 barrels per day to 1.43 million barrels per day in November, according to data from an S&P Global Commodity Insight. This was lower than the 1.46 million barrels produced in October by Africa’s largest oil producer and 312,000 barrels per day short of its 1.742 million barrels per day target in 2023. Angola, Africa’s second-largest oil producer, saw output drop 20,000 barrels per day to 1.13 million barrels per day, according to the survey, compared with its quota of 1.46 million barrels per day. The drops impacted the wider output of

Image
08-December-2023

New Survey: Some Nigerian Bank Adverts Are Misleading—Customers

By Aduragbemi Omiyale Some aggrieved customers have accused Nigerian banks of lying about a few of their services in adverts in the media and not doing enough to assist when needed, despite using the provided platforms to lodge their complaints. In a survey conducted recently by a foremost perception consulting firm in the country, CMC Connect LLP, it was observed that some financial services consumers in Nigeria are not satisfied with what they get from their banks. The perception study carried out by the Strategy & Intelligence Service unit of CMC Connect showed that, “Consumers do not have enough information

Image
08-December-2023

Delta State Proposed Budget 2024 and Critical Concerns

By Jerome-Mario Utomi It is common knowledge that Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, recently, presented a N714.4 billion Appropriation Bill tagged ‘Budget of Hope and Optimism,’ for the 2024 fiscal year to the state House of Assembly. What is, however, uncertain to Deltans and the watching world is whose interest the bill, if passed, is meant to serve or protect. There is also the concern as to whether it will herald into the political geography called Delta state, a just or an unjust law. As we are now, a just law is ‘a man-made code that squares with moral laws

Image
08-December-2023

Nigeria’s Merchandise Trade Rises 1% to $7.8bn in August 2023

By Adedapo Adesanya  The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that the total value of the country’s merchandise trade experienced an increase of 1 per cent to $7.8 billion in August 2023 from the $7.72 billion that was quoted in July. This was disclosed by the apex bank in its latest monthly economic publication, where it disclosed that despite the rise month-on-month, Nigeria’s merchandise trade value in the period was almost 20 per cent lower compared to the value in August 2022 due to a significant decrease in import trade value. The total merchandise trade comprised an export trade

Image
08-December-2023

FAO Food Price Index Remains Unchanged in November

By Adedapo Adesanya The global prices of food remained flat, unchanged from its revised October level, as increases in the price indices for vegetable oils, dairy products, and sugar counterbalanced decreases in those of cereals and meat. This is according to the latest Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) Food Price Index (FFPI) released on Friday. The index showed that food prices averaged 120.4 points in November 2023 and stood 14.4 points (10.7 per cent) below the corresponding level one year ago. The FAO Cereal Price Index averaged 121.0 points in November, down 3.7 points (3.0 per cent) from October and

Image
08-December-2023

Dangote Targets Ramping Up Production as First Crude Supply Lands

By Adedapo Adesanya The President of the Dangote Group, the owners of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals plant, Mr Aliko Dangote, has said that following the purchase of 1 million barrels of Agbami crude grade from Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (STASCO), it will be looking to ramp up its production in coming months. The 650,000 barrels per day capacity refinery is not expected to hit full capacity until 2025, but with a gradual ramping, it is expected that it will begin with begin producing up to 370,000 barrels per day of diesel and jet fuel. “We

Image
08-December-2023

NECA, LCCI Worry Over Exit of Multinationals from Nigeria

By Precious Olisa The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) have expressed their disappointment over the increasing exit of multinationals from the Nigerian market. The two organisations reacted to the planned exit of Procter & Gamble (P&G) from the country over economic headwinds. P&G announced its intention to close down its manufacturing operations in Nigeria and adopt an import-only business model due to the foreign exchange (FX) crisis in the country. This is coming some weeks after GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Sanofi, Unilever Nigeria, Equinor and others have also indicated their interest in quitting

Image
08-December-2023

NGX Tutors Retiring Military Officers on Personal Finance, Investing

By Aduragbemi Omiyale Some retiring Nigerian military personnel have been educated on how they can unlock opportunities in the capital market after active service to the nation. At a seminar held on Thursday, December 7, 2023, at the Nigeria Armed Forces Resettlement Centre in Lagos, the participants were informed of the benefits of diversifying their investments for more earnings. They were also exposed to ways to invest and assess the market with technology, including via the recently launched NGX USSD Code. The Divisional Head of Business Support Services and General Counsel of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, Ms Irene Robinson-Ayanwale,