Finserve Africa Limited

Finserve Africa Limited
Equitel
Private Subsidiary
Industry Telecommunications
Headquarters Nairobi, Kenya
Area served
 Kenya
Products Mobile money & telephony
Parent Equity Group Holdings Limited
Website Equity Group

Finserve Africa Limited (trading as Equitel)[1] is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in the Kenya. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Equity Group Holdings Limited and is using the Airtel Kenya[2] network as its carrier.

Overview

The Equitel brand is hailed by Equity Bank as the 'next big thing' i.e. Equity 3.0. The move was to give Equity Bank the opportunity to continue its mission of furthering financial inclusion and innovative service offerings for all Kenyans by presenting their financial services offering on to a single platform which will make banking services more accessible, flexible convenient and more affordable. Airtel Kenya on their part stated that the partnership would increase their revenue by up to 10%.[3]

The brand made Equity Bank the first financial institution in Africa to offer a full banking suite through an MVNO.

History

Equity Bank, through its subsidiary Finserve Africa Limited, received its MVNO Licence on April 11, 2014, along with Tangaza Money and Zioncell Kenya. All which would run on Airtel Kenya's network, a move that was opposed by the Consumer Federation of Kenya, Safaricom and Telkom Kenya[4]

For the Bank, the move was aimed at lowering their transaction costs by up to 47% as well as an added revenue stream by providing money transfer service and other telco services to their 8.7 million customers.[5]

Due to the requirement to have a SIM card to access the service, users would therefore need an additional mobile phone or Dual SIM phone. Equity Bank overcame this challenge by adopting the use of 0.1 millimetres thick ultra-slim SIM cards from Taisys Solutions, using technology originally developed in China.[6] The ultra-slim SIM cards are placed at the back of normal SIM cards therefore tackling this challenge effectively.[7] This ultra-slim SIM cards would also come with Near Field Communication (NFC) capability that enables them to be swiped on the point of sale devices or ATM[8] thus converting a mobile phone into a credit or debit card.

Market leader Safaricom wrote to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) challenging the use of ultra-slim SIM cards stating that they could expose their subscribers to intercepted communication and financial fraud on M-Pesa service.[9] Despite this, Finserve Africa were granted a one year trial period through the 0763xxxxxx prefix.[10]

On September 22, 2014, Safaricom stated that it would review its legal commitments to M-Pesa customers who opt to use the Equitel overlay SIM cards.[11] In addition, the CCK required Finserve Africa to make a written undertaking to compensate mobile phone subscribers for any losses they may incur during the one-year trial of its thin SIM, putting to test the company’s assertion that the technology is safe.

On October 14, 2014, Equity Bank Kenya started issuing ordinary SIM cards for telecommunication and mobile banking services to its 8.7 million customers across the country.[1]

Other locations

Equity Bank Group plans to roll out their mobile virtual network in Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda through their partnership with Airtel Africa.

Equity Group Holdings Limited

Equity Group Holdings Limited is a large financial services group in East Africa. As of March 2014, The group had an asset base valued at over US$3.45 billion (KES:295 billion), with a total customer base in excess of 8.7 million, in the region the group serves.[12] The companies that comprise the Equity Bank Group include the following:[13]

  1. Equity Bank Kenya Limited – Nairobi, Kenya Kenya
  2. Equity Bank Rwanda Limited – Kigali, Rwanda Rwanda
  3. Equity Bank South Sudan Limited – Juba, South Sudan South Sudan
  4. Equity Bank Tanzania Limited – Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Tanzania
  5. Equity Bank Uganda Limited – Kampala, Uganda Uganda
  6. Equity Consulting Group Limited – Nairobi, Kenya Kenya
  7. Equity Insurance Agency Limited – Nairobi, Kenya Kenya
  8. Equity Nominees Limited – Nairobi, Kenya Kenya
  9. Equity Investment Services Limited – Nairobi, Kenya Kenya
  10. Finserve Africa Limited – Nairobi, Kenya Kenya
  11. Equity Group Foundation – Nairobi, Kenya Kenya

Shares of the stock of Equity Group Holdings Limited, the parent company of Finserve Africa Limited, are listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE), under the symbol EQTY. The Group's stock is also cross-listed on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE), under the symbol EBL.

See also

References