Economy
Quick Money Access Across the Continent with Airtel Africa & MoneyGram
Airtel Africa’s partnership with MoneyGram, announced on August 21st, is supposed to provide millions of users across the continent with a quick way to receive money.
Airtel Africa is well known as a provider of telecommunications and mobile money, available in 14 African countries (primarily in East, Central, and West Africa).
In March last year, the company had over 99 million subscribers, 19 million of which use a mobile payment app called Airtel Money The great appeal of Airtel Money, in addition to its national and international money services, is their offer of very cheap data plans in Nigeria.
Speaking about the new partnership, the CEO of Airtel Africa, Raghunath Mandava said: “We are delighted to work with MoneyGram to provide millions of customers with fast, secure, and convenient options to receive and send money as well as access their funds from a vast distribution of exclusive kiosks, agents and branches at their convenience.”
He also added: “This is a significant step forward in our ambition to transform lives through greater financial inclusion and empowerment across the continent. Maximizing access to global remittances is a key part of this – even more so given the disruption and economic hardship faced by many because of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
This partnership is just one step in the company’s journey. Airtel Africa also closed a deal with Standard Chartered Bank in order to allow its clients to make online deposits and withdrawals from the bank in real-time as well as internationally receive money to their wallet and access their savings, in addition to other features. Last year, they also partnered up with a payment and foreign exchange services firm Ecobank and Finablr – a pan-African banking giant.
MoneyGram International Second Biggest Worldwide
On the other hand, MoneyGram International is a global remittance company based in the USA. They specialize in cross-border peer-to-peer payments and money transfers and are the second-biggest provider of these services in the world.
When it comes to the Airtel deal, John Gely, Head of MoneyGram Africa said: “This partnership with Airtel will enable millions of consumers instant access to our global platform to receive money from over 200 countries and territories without having to even step outside.”
Gely added: “We’re excited about how this customer-centric partnership with Airtel will expand our mobile wallet capabilities, build upon our strong momentum in Africa, and further accelerate our digital growth across the globe.”
MoneyGram already has similar arrangements with Safaricom, which allows Tanzanian and Kenyan users to access the platform, as well as with Zimbabwe’s Ecocash and various providers in Ghana, such as Vodafone Cash, Airtel Tigo Money, and MTN MoMo.
There was also talk of Western Union approaching MoneyGram and proposing a takeover deal but, so far, it looks like nothing came of it. Furthermore, the company is relying on blockchain and its decentralized technology to make its transfers faster and more efficient. Ripple, a blockchain payments company, made a significant investment in MoneyGram and now holds around 10% of its common stocks.
The Airtel Africa/MoneyGram deal means that Airtel Money’s customers will be able to receive transfers from their friends and family through MoneyGram and put it directly into their mobile wallets. The money will be available instantly and can be used for a variety of purposes, from paying the utility bills to transferring it to other individuals.
Seeing as how the coronavirus pandemic encouraged people to replace cash with various digital payment apps, it’s no wonder that there is more and more use of this method in e-commerce, mobile banking, and mobile gambling industries. Being somewhat of a data security freak, the stamp of approval from the online gambling industry means a lot.
As the pay by phone page on casinos.co.za says, ‘the latest data encryption technology should be implemented to keep your personal details and banking information completely secure’. Indeed, to make a purchase or money transfer, a verification code is sent to the specific phone number. It’s one of the safest methods because you can only complete the transaction if you are holding the phone.
What is more, paying by phone is one of the most convenient ways of paying as chances are that everyone has their phone on them at all times. Furthermore, this is one of the safest methods because only a phone number and a verification code sent to that number are required to make a purchase or payment.
However, it is important to note that the Communication Authority of Kenya (CAK) is yet to approve this deal. If and once the deal is approved by this regulatory body, the Airtel Money customers will be able to experience all the benefits of this partnership.
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock market firmed up by 1.13 per cent on Friday as appetite for Nigerian stocks remained strong.
Investors reacted well to the 2026 budget presentation of President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly yesterday, especially because of the more realistic crude oil benchmark of $64 per barrel compared with the ambitious $75 per barrel for 2025. This year, prices have been between $60 and $65 per barrel.
Business Post observed profit-taking in the commodity and energy sectors as they respectively shed 0.14 per cent and 0.03 per cent.
But, bargain-hunting in the others sustained the positive run, with the consumer goods index up by 3.82 per cent.
Further, the industrial goods space appreciated by 1.46 per cent, the banking counter improved by 0.08 per cent, and the insurance industry gained 0.04 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 1,694.33 points to 152,057.38 points from 150,363.05 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N1.080 trillion to finish at N96.937 trillion compared with Thursday’s closing value of N95.857 trillion.
A total of 34 shares ended on the advancers’ chart, while 24 were on the laggards’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
Austin Laz gained 10.00 per cent to close at N2.42, Union Dicon also jumped 10.00 per cent to N6.60, Tantalizers increased by 9.80 per cent to N2.69, Aluminium Extrusion improved by 9.78 per cent to N12.35, and Champion Breweries grew by 9.71 per cent to N16.95.
Conversely, Sovereign Trust Insurance dipped by 7.42 per cent to N3.87, Royal Exchange lost 6.84 per cent to trade at N1.77, Omatek slipped by 6.84 per cent to N1.09, Eunisell depreciated by 5.88 per cent to N80.00, and Eterna dropped 5.63 per cent to close at N28.50.
Yesterday, traders transacted 1.5 billion units worth N21.8 billion in 25,667 deals compared with the 839.8 million units sold for N32.8 billion in 23,211 deals in the preceding session, showing a surge in the trading volume by 76.61 per cent, an uptick in the number of deals by 10.58 per cent, and a shrink in the trading value by 33.54 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three stocks stretched the bearish run of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.21 per cent on Friday, December 19, with the market capitalisation giving up N26.01 billion to close at N2.121 billion compared with the N2.147 trillion it ended a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropping 43.47 points to 3,546.41 points from 3,589.88 points.
The trio of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, and NASD Plc overpowered the gains printed by four other securities.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N6.00 to sell at N54.00 per unit versus N60.00 per unit, NASD Plc shrank by N3.50 to N58.50 per share from N55.00 per share, and CSCS Plc depleted by N2.91 to N33.87 per unit from N36.78 per unit.
On the flip side, Air Liquide Plc gained N1.01 to close at N13.00 per share versus N11.99 per share, Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 70 Kobo to N7.68 per unit from N6.98 per unit, Geo-Fluids Plc added 39 Kobo to sell at N5.50 per share versus N5.11 per share, and IPWA Plc rose by 8 Kobo to 85 Kobo per unit from 77 Kobo per unit.
During the trading day, market participants traded 1.9 million securities versus the previous day’s 30.5 million securities showing a decline of 49.3 per cent. The value of trades went down by 64.3 per cent to N80.3 million from N225.1 million, but the number of deals jumped by 32.1 per cent to 37 deals from 28 deals.
Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc finished the session as the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units valued at N16.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 178.9 million units transacted for N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units traded for N4.9 billion.
The most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was still InfraCredit Plc with 5.8 billion units worth N16.4 billion, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira at the two major foreign exchange (FX) market on Friday as it suffered a heavy loss against the United States Dollar at the close of transactions.
In the black market segment, the Naira weakened against its American counterpart yesterday by N10 to quote at N1,485/$1, in contrast to the N1,475/$1 it was traded a day earlier, and at the GTBank forex counter, it depreciated by N2 to settle at N1,467/$1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,465/$1.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) window, which is also the official market, the nation’s legal tender crashed against the greenback by N6.65 or 0.46 per cent to close at N1,464.49/$1 compared with the preceding session’s rate of N1,457.84/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency tumbled against the Euro in the spot market by N2.25 to sell for N1,714.63/€1 compared with the previous day’s N1,712.38/€1, but appreciated against the Pound Sterling by 73 Kobo to finish at N1,957.30/£1 compared with the N1,958.03/£1 it was traded in the preceding session.
The market continues to face seasonal pressure even as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is still conducting FX intervention sales, which have significantly reduced but not remove pressure from the Naira. Also, there seems to be reduced supply from exporters, foreign portfolio investors and non-bank corporate inflows.
President Bola Tinubu on Friday presented the government’s N58.47 trillion budget plan aimed at consolidating economic reforms and boosting growth.
The budget is based on a projected crude oil price of $64.85 a barrel and includes a target oil output of 1.84 million barrels a day. It also projects an exchange rate of N1,400 to the Dollar.
President Tinubu said inflation had plunged to an annual rate of 14.45 per cent in November from 24.23 per cent in March, while foreign reserves had surged to a seven-year high of $47 billion.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was dominated by the bulls but it continues to face increased pressure after million in liquidations in previous session over accelerating declines, with Dogecoin (DOGE) recovering 4.2 per cent to trade at $0.1309.
Further, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 3.9 per cent to $1.90, Cardano (ADA) rose by 3.5 per cent to $0.3728, Solana (SOL) jumped by 3.4 per cent to $126.23, Ethereum (ETH) climbed by 2.9 per cent to $2,982.42, Binance Coin (BNB) gained 2.0 per cent to sell for $853.06, Bitcoin (BTC) improved by 1.7 per cent to $88,281.21, and Litecoin (LTC) soared by 1.2 per cent to $76.50, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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