Mobile Money
Estel Mobile Wallet / Digital Wallet / eWallet
A digital wallet, also known as an e-Wallet, is a virtual wallet or account that allows users to store funds in digital forms and to make transactions using digital units. This wallet can be accessed using a digital channel, e.g. computer, mobile. Since mobile penetration is significantly higher than computers, digital wallets are evolving primarily around Mobile-based channels, e.g. Smartphone app, SMS, USSD, NFC, etc. allowing millions of unbanked population access to digital wallets popularized as Mobile Wallet and digital units mostly known as Mobile Money.
A significant gap has emerged globally in recent years between mobile penetration and banking penetration! In most countries, a large number of people do not have access to banking & financial services, whereas they either have a mobile phone or have access to a mobile phone & service.
Mobile Money brings relevant, low-cost banking to the doorsteps of millions of such people, especially in developing countries, where banking services are not readily available or easily accessible, but the mobile telephony infrastructure is well developed. This offers enormous potential to open new markets and business opportunities for service providers, banks, mobile operators & merchants!
Your Phone, Your Bank: Estel’s Mobile Wallet Solution
Estel’s Mobile Wallet solution is a highly evolved Digital Wallet Solution. Our technology enables users to turn mobile handsets into Mobile Wallets. We offer a high-performance transaction processing platform that can be integrated with existing mobile and banking infrastructure. It allows people to:
Open virtual bank accounts (called m-Wallets/e-Wallet)
Transfer money
Get salary disbursements
Deposit & withdraw cash from m-Wallets at authorized retail outlets
Make payments for goods & services, including prepaid/airtime recharge & bill payments
Check balance, get mini statement
Platform features
Estel’s Mobile Wallet Solution is a modern Digital Money Transfer Software gone through over two decades of evolution in collaboration with Payment Service Providers, mobile network operators, banks, and most importantly subscribers. Some of the key features that this Mobile Wallet Payment Solution offers are:
Multiple eWallets for each subscriber.
Multiple currencies in a single deployment (ideal for countries allowing transactions in multiple currencies).
High-performance transaction management software with proven capability of over 4000 TPS (transactions per second).
Technology agnostic payment modes allowing subscribers to choose from modern NFC-based payment modes to basic USSD and SMS-based channels.
Cloud-ready platform with successful deployments in both private as well as public cloud environments.
Multi-tenant deployment support allows multiple smaller PSPs to share the same infrastructure while maintaining complete opacity from each other.
Database agnostic: The platform supports multiple licensed as well as popular open-source databases.
White label mobile wallet solution: Estel also provides a white-label eWallet solution fully customized to customer’s functional and branding requirements. Customers are also provided with adequate training to further customize the supplied White Label Wallet Solution to their specific needs on their own.
Highly Integrated ecosystem: The platform has integrated with 100 + standard as well as non-standard nodes on mobile operator, banks, and PSP side.
Key benefits
Enhanced Financial Inclusion
Estel Mobile Money brings banking and financial services to underserved populations, allowing them to participate in the formal economy.
Accessibility
The platform is designed for use with both smartphones and feature phones, ensuring inclusivity for a wide range of users.
These benefits collectively make Estel Mobile Money a powerful tool for promoting financial inclusion, convenience, and security in the digital financial landscape.
Use cases
Merchant Payments
Cash availability is becoming a major problem in many countries and adds to the inconvenience of both merchants and customers. Myanmar had a similar problem when Estel’s Digital Wallet Platform powered m-Wallet service was introduced. Now millions of subscribers are using their phones to make merchant and utility bill payments across the country.
Money Transfer
Abdul from Douala, Cameroon urgently needed to send money to his brother at Kumbo. But his brother did not have a bank account. Smart Abdul approached an m-wallet agent across the street and gave the money and mobile number of his brother. Within seconds, his brother received an SMS with a code and instructions to redeem the code at his nearest m-wallet agent. Millions of people like Abdul’s brother who do not have access to banking services can send and receive money to their loved ones in Cameroon and 5 other neighbouring countries from a centralized eWallet payment system in Cameroon.
Utility Bill Payment
Paying utility bills like electricity, water, etc used to be a cumbersome task in Nigeria. Mr. Olawuyi running a small mobile shop used to lose an entire day’s business every month to make these payments. But now he can use his handset to make these payments within seconds right from his shop. He and millions of others in Nigeria are using an m-wallet service powered by Estel’s mobile money software (digital wallet software) platform to make utility bill payments.
Salary payment
Paying salary for his employees at his construction site used to be a pain every month for Mr. Rashid because most of the workers did not have any bank accounts and needed payment in cash. They did not have bank accounts but all of them had mobile phones. So, Mr. Rashid decided to pay the salary as mobile money. He just needed to upload the list of mobile numbers and amounts for each worker and each worker received the salary within seconds. The workers were also able to visit the nearest mobile money agent to withdraw cash from their Mobile Wallet accounts. Estel’s Mobile Wallet Payment System is behind many such success stories across Lebanon.
Such bulk payments are not limited to salary/wages. Govt. and other Charitable Agencies may use these services during emergencies or for periodic welfare distribution to support the people in distress.
Why a telecom operator should adopt
Adopting mobile money is a strategic imperative for telecom operators. Beyond traditional telecom services, mobile money diversifies revenue streams, enhances customer loyalty, and fosters market differentiation. By providing financial services, operators can increase customer stickiness, encouraging users to keep their money within their ecosystem. This not only reduces churn but also drives up usage of other telecom services.
Additionally, mobile money contributes to financial inclusion, aligning with social responsibility goals and creating opportunities for revenue sharing with partners such as banks and merchants. Moreover, telecom operators can reduce cash handling costs, tap into the cross-border remittances market, and leverage valuable data insights to shape marketing strategies and enhance service offerings.
World view
The impact of mobile money on the world has been transformative, revolutionizing the way financial transactions are conducted and significantly contributing to global economic growth and financial inclusion. Here's how:
Economic Empowerment
In 2022 alone, mobile money users globally conducted transactions worth a staggering $1.2 trillion. This enormous volume of transactions has injected liquidity into the global economy, fostering economic growth and financial empowerment.
Financial Inclusion
With 401 million active mobile money accounts worldwide, mobile money has opened doors to financial services for millions who were previously unbanked or underbanked. Sub-Saharan Africa, with 218 million active users, leads the way, representing over half of the global total active accounts. This has been a game-changer for regions where traditional banking services are scarce.
Estel Mobile Money offers telecom operators and Payment Service providers a compelling value proposition, combining revenue diversification with customer loyalty. Through its seamless financial services platform , including wallet registration with KYC compliance and robust security features, operators can enhance customer stickiness and reduce churn.
This powerful platform also enables operators to tap into cross-border remittances, streamline salary disbursements, and offer prepaid recharge and bill payment services. By embracing Estel Mobile Money, operators can unlock new revenue streams, benefit from cost savings through reduced cash handling, and align themselves with global trends in digital finance, all while providing customers with secure and convenient mobile money solutions.
What is mobile money
Mobile money refers to a digital payment system that allows users to store, send, and receive money using a mobile phone or other mobile devices, such as smartphones or even basic feature phones. It is a financial technology (FinTech) innovation that has gained significant popularity, especially in regions with limited access to traditional banking services.
Mobile money operates through a simple and convenient process. Users start by creating a mobile money account, typically done via a mobile app or by visiting an authorized agent. Once their account is set up, they can fund it by depositing money through physical agents or various funding methods like bank transfers, debit/credit cards, or cash. With a funded account, users can effortlessly send money to others by specifying the recipient's mobile number and the desired amount. The recipient then receives a notification and gains access to the transferred funds in their own mobile money account.
Beyond peer-to-peer transfers, mobile money can also be used to pay for goods and services at participating merchants, covering expenses like utility bills, airtime top-ups, and online purchases. Additionally, users can conveniently withdraw cash from their mobile money accounts, either through authorized agents or ATMs, making it a versatile and accessible financial tool for a wide range of transactions.
