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Equitel
Finserve Africa Limited (doing business as Equitel) is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in Kenya. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Equity Group Holdings and is using the Airtel Kenya network as its carrier.
The Equitel brand was hailed by Equity Group as the "next big thing", as part of an overhaul dubbed "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%.
The brand made Equity Bank the first financial institution in Africa to offer a full banking suite through an MVNO.
Equity Bank, through its subsidiary Finserve Africa Limited, received its MVNO Licence on 11 April 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
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 and other telco services to their 14.3 million customers.
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. The ultra-slim SIM cards are placed at the back of normal SIM cards therefore tackling this challenge effectively. 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 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. Despite this, Finserve Africa were granted a one-year trial period through the 0763xxxxxx prefix.
On 22 September 2014, Safaricom stated that it would review its legal commitments to M-Pesa customers who opt to use the Equitel overlay SIM cards. 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.
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Equitel
Finserve Africa Limited (doing business as Equitel) is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in Kenya. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Equity Group Holdings and is using the Airtel Kenya network as its carrier.
The Equitel brand was hailed by Equity Group as the "next big thing", as part of an overhaul dubbed "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%.
The brand made Equity Bank the first financial institution in Africa to offer a full banking suite through an MVNO.
Equity Bank, through its subsidiary Finserve Africa Limited, received its MVNO Licence on 11 April 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
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 and other telco services to their 14.3 million customers.
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. The ultra-slim SIM cards are placed at the back of normal SIM cards therefore tackling this challenge effectively. 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 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. Despite this, Finserve Africa were granted a one-year trial period through the 0763xxxxxx prefix.
On 22 September 2014, Safaricom stated that it would review its legal commitments to M-Pesa customers who opt to use the Equitel overlay SIM cards. 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.