Cashless Future for Africa: Orange and Mastercard’s Strategic Alliance Drives Financial Transformation
Orange Middle East and Africa (OMEA) and the payments giant Mastercard have joined forces to expand access to mobile financial services across Sub-Saharan Africa. This landmark partnership, one of the largest of its kind in the region, aims to empower millions of Orange Money wallet holders by enabling them to make digital payments through Mastercard’s global merchant network by 2025.
The collaboration will be rolled out in seven countries: Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. This strategic move aligns with Orange’s broader strategy to offer more efficient and seamless payment solutions to its customers, further boosting financial inclusion and supporting Africa’s digital transformation.
Liquid C2 Launches Secure360 to Strengthen Cybersecurity Across Africa
Liquid C2, a business of Cassava Technologies, a leading pan-African technology group, has introduced Secure360, a comprehensive combination of cyber security services and solutions designed to address the growing complexity of cyber threats across the continent.
Secure360 encompasses four key domains: Governance, Risk, and Compliance; Cyber Threat Assurance; Cyber Defence Services; and Cyber Security Solutions.
Embracing Digitalization of Remittances in Africa
In recent years, remittances have emerged as a vital financial resource for families and communities across Africa, contributing significantly to economic stability and development. In 2023 alone, Africa received almost $100 billion in remittances, highlighting their strategic importance despite being largely untapped. However, high transfer costs averaging around 9% remain a notable barrier.
Digital remittances have gained significant traction due to the proliferation of mobile networks, the emergence of fintech startups, and initiatives promoting digital payments. As a result, the volume of remittances to Africa has grown steadily over the past decade. It has facilitated easier and more cost-effective transfer methods, facilitating financial inclusion and promoting the development of an entire related ecosystem.
Read more: https://www.un.org/osaa/fr/events/embracing-digitalization-remittances-africa
Google supports African startups in new accelerator cohort focused on tech innovation
- In a bid to further fuel Africa’s thriving tech landscape, Google has announced its latest cohort of startups selected for the 2024 Google for Startups Accelerator Africa.
- This year, the accelerator features a strong presence of African innovators, with startups from across the continent focused on tackling challenges through cutting-edge solutions in sectors like fintech, healthtech, and artificial intelligence.
- The program offers mentorship, resources, and equity-free support, aiming to scale startup solutions.
The Google for Startups Accelerator Africa program, launched in 2018, has provided significant backing to over 106 startups from 17 African countries, with past participants collectively securing $263 million in funding and generating over 2,800 jobs across the continent.
Read more: https://techpoint.africa/2024/11/13/google-supports-african-startups/
Cake by VPBank Leverages Visa for Cloud-Based Card Management
Cake by VPBank, a Vietnamese digital bank, has collaborated with Visa to launch a cloud-based card management system (CMS).
The system, built on Google Cloud infrastructure and using Visa Cloud Connect, integrates with Visa’s global payment network.
The CMS aims to enhance payment processing in Vietnam by leveraging cloud infrastructure, allowing for secure and streamlined operations.
Read more: https://fintechnews.sg/103709/cloud/cake-vpbank-visa/
Visa’s Strategic Investments Fuel Financial Inclusion in Africa
Visa, the world’s second-largest card payment processor, has made strategic investments in four African startups as part of its plan to invest $1 billion to drive financial inclusion in the continent. These startups are part of Visa’s biannual Africa Fintech Accelerator program, which launched in June 2023.
The first cohort of the accelerator program admitted 23 startups and provided them with mentorship, technology credits, and opportunities to connect with potential investors during the Demo Day event. From this cohort, only four startups were selected for strategic investment by Visa.
Read more: https://www.techinafrica.com/visas-strategic-investments-fuel-financial-inclusion-in-africa/
Mastercard aims to kill passwords and manual card entry by 2030
As e-commerce continues to soar, fraud rates remain seven times higher online than in stores as criminals exploit exposed card numbers, creating headaches for cardholders and huge losses for merchants and card issuers.
In addition, according to Mastercard research, nearly two-thirds of shoppers still struggle through manually entering their card details, with 25% of carts abandoned because checkout is too complex or slow.
