Safaricom invites bids of a location tracking platform

Safaricom

Safaricom has invited bids to seek suppliers of a location tracking and intelligence platform. In a bid notice, they express interest to take advantage of a location intelligence system which will help them build customer profiles based on their location, according to Business Daily. “Consequently, the evolution of the mobile network and devices has enabled Safaricom to gather information from the connected devices. At the core of any reliably connected device is an accurate location intelligence system,” the bid notice said. According to the latest sector statistics by the Communications Authority,…

Korba launched an all inclusive shortcode

MTN Rwanda

Korba, a leading Ghanaian Fintech brand owned and operated by Halges Financial Technologies Ltd, has launched an all inclusive and innovative shortcode that allows users to transfer funds, pay bills, purchase airtime, data bundles among others. The newly introduced *365# promises to be a game-changer in Ghana’s financial services ecosystem providing users with utmost convenience and security. Speaking at the launch, Nelson Da Seglah, CEO of Halges Financial Technologies said the introduction of the shortcode is in line with the company’s commitment to continuously evolve to serve customers better. He…

Cellulant’s super payments app Tingg unveiled in 8 African countries

Tingg Celuulant

Cellulant the African fintech company has Tuesday announced the launch of Tingg, an all-in-one, multi-functional consumer super app that will include a wide array of payment, commerce and financial services into a single platform that will revolutionize the way customers interact with digital payment services in the continent. The pan-African payments firm has been quietly building a payments super app to bring bill payments, remittances, lending, group investments, food and gas orders in one app in its eight markets across Africa. The firm has now announced a major rebrand of…

MTN launches ‘world first’ WhatsApp-based Airtime Top-up service

MTN says it will become the first mobile network in the world to let customers buy airtime and data bundles and check their balances directly on Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp. The service, MTN Chat, will help customers manage their accounts “off a secure and convenient platform they already know and love”, said Mapula Bodibe, MTN SA’s consumer business executive. “It’s imperative that companies focus on improving self-service experiences to retain and grow customers and this is an important step for MTN,” Bodibe said. Calling it a world first for the…

Google’s New Chat Messaging Service is Ready to Launch

Google has started the global roll-out of its new Chat messaging service, which is designed to replace SMS text messages on Android phones. Chat has features such as group texts, videos, typing indicators and read receipts, which are not available when sending SMS texts. Chat will be integrated with the default messages app on Android phones. However, it will be up to mobile operators to enable the service and it does not offer encrypted messages. The new system has been in development for several years, but is now beginning to…

One on One with Sendy Ltd: Using Technology to bring efficiency in business

Think back to how business was done a few decades ago. There was no email, Internet, mobile marketing, telecommuting or smartphones. Innovations in technology have improved operations at companies of all sizes. ITBusinessDirect spoke with Sendy Ltd, a tech platform in Kenya that connects businesses to Drivers to make delivery simple and transparent, on the tech ecosystem in Kenya. The session is majorly on the digital innovation trends and the set backs faced by Tech start ups in the industry. Question: Its true that Technology brings businesses closer to customers. How can…

New devices connecting to the internet increase risk of corporate cyber attacks

Is the Internet of Things putting your business at risk? Network security needs to be top of mind for decision makers within the business, as more and more device connect to the internet via wireless network technology. According to Palo Alto Networks, wireless network technology is simultaneously necessary and risky for organisations, and the Internet of Things could be putting businesses at risk of a cyber attack. “Most businesses are aware that wireless connections can be risky so they look to mitigate the risks by protecting their internal infrastructure,” says…

Netflix caught secretly throttling traffic on AT&T and Verizon for the past 5 years

A message Netflix gave Verizon home Internet customers during a money dispute in 2014.

The Wall Street Journal last week confirmed a researcher’s findings that the video giant had been secretly throttling traffic reducing the default bitrate to 600kbps in order to help users stay under their data caps on Verizon and AT&T’s mobile networks, and has been doing so for the last five years.  The practice does not extend to Sprint or T-Mobile , who Netflix feels are more “consumer friendly.” Netflix’s admission comes only a week after T-Mobile USA CEO John Legere said that AT&T and Verizon deliver Netflix video at a resolution of…

Namibia to get home fibre, 4G

Namibia’s largest mobile network, MTC, says it will cover 45% of the desert nation with a fourth-generation long-term evolution (4G/LTE) mobile network by the end of 2013. The company also intends extending its fibre-optic network to offer direct fibre services to businesses and, eventually, to households.  source

Safaricom and Visa launch M-Pesa Global Pay Visa Virtual Card

Safaricom and Visa launch M-Pesa Global Pay Visa Virtual Card Safaricom has entered an agreement with Visa to form M-Pesa GlobalPay Visa Virtual card which will see the mobile phone-based money transfer service transact in 200 countries. This will allow customers to transact up to Sh150,000 ($1,28370) per payment and Sh300,000 ($2,567.3) per day. The deal is expected to shore Safaricom’s earnings from the mobile money services at a time M-Pesa revenues have been growing steadily. “By partnering with Visa to provide the M-Pesa GlobalPay Visa virtual card, we are…