BrandiQ Report
Telecommunications industry player, Airtel Africa Plc. has entered into a strategic collaboration with Standard Chartered Bank in a bid to increase access to its mobile money services and to thereby drive growth of Fintech.
The collaboration will ultimately enable Airtel to expand the range and depth of its Fintech business arm, Airtel Money.
According to a statement, new products and services will be launched at targeted Airtel’s 19 million customer base with a view to encouraging the adoption of mobile money whilst engendering the financial inclusion goal of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“Standard Chartered and Airtel Africa will work together to co-create new, innovative products aimed at enhancing the accessibility of financial services and, ultimately, better serve people across Africa. In line with this, Airtel Money’s customers will be able to make real-time online deposits and withdrawals from Standard Chartered bank accounts, receive international money transfers directly to their wallets, and access savings products amongst other services,” the statement said.
Commenting on the partnership, Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Africa, Raghunath Mandava, said: “Our relationship with Standard Chartered boosts financial inclusion across the continent, giving millions of people access to valuable banking services. We continue to invest heavily in cashing in and cashing out locations for our customers and increase our distribution. This means that our customers can now send or receive digital payments via Standard Chartered Bank directly to their mobile phones, as well as cash-out their funds at our exclusive kiosks and branches at their convenience. This highlights Airtel Africa’s commitment to providing affordable, innovative, best-in-class solutions to enhance the daily lives of our customers.”
