Monitise Regulatory News (MONI)

23 Feb 2009 11:26



23 February 2009

MONITISE AND E-FULUSI AFRICA PARTNER TO DELIVER INCLUSIVE BANKING SERVICES ACROSS EAST AFRICA

Monitise plc (MONI.L) today announced that it has entered a partnership with E-Fulusi Africa, the Tanzanian mobile wallet provider. The two companies will work together to provide a fully integrated service that will help bring banking services to the millions of people across East Africa that are currently unbanked. 

Monitise, which has recently been awarded US$1.5 million of funding by the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) to deliver its service in East Africa, enables the provision of banking, payment and money transfer services by both banks and mobile networks, within the regulatory framework of each market it operates in. It will offer the opportunity for citizens in East Africa to use their mobile phones to save money, make payments, transfer funds, and deposit and withdraw cash through the widest choice of mobile networks, banks and mobile handsets.

E-Fulusi Africa's expertise and experience in establishing the regulatory framework for mobile banking alongside the Central Bank of Tanzania and firm understanding in implementing practical policy for developing markets, will be an invaluable asset in deploying services throughout East Africa. Its technology, which currently powers the MOBIPAWA and ZPESA services, the first two mobile banking services in Tanzania, offers a specialist mobile wallet designed to meet the needs of the unbanked. Integrated with Monitise's award winning mobile money manager, it will create a service that gives citizens across East Africa the opportunity to have an account, which they can control and make payments from using their mobile phone.

Monitise East Africa will initially offer services in Uganda, where it will have its headquarters in Kampala. In due course the service will expand into neighbouring countries, including Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia. 

Nadeem Juma, managing director of E-Fulusi Africa said: "By working with Monitise, we have an opportunity to help transform the lives of millions of people across East Africa. Together we will deliver a highly inclusive service that works across the widest range of networks, banks and phones. Monitise's experience in delivering this across the UK and North America combined with our expertise means that the service has the potential to bring a savings and banking culture to millions of people across the region."

Alastair Lukies, chief executive, Monitise plc added: "By partnering with E-Fulusi Africa which has already improved the lives of people in Tanzania, we have created a service with the needs of African people at its heart. Our strategy has always been to work with key partners in each region that we operate. By bringing our service together with E-Fulusi Africa's, I firmly believe that we have an opportunity to deliver a service that can help trigger considerable economic growth across the region."

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Enquiries

About E-Fulusi Africa E-Fulusi Africa (T) Limited is a technology company, whose main objective is to bridge the gap in payment processes across Africa. E-Fulusi's main goal is to facilitate the provision of financial services to a majority of the population, often located in rural areas representing banked, un-banked and under-banked communities. 

www.efulusi.co.tz

About Monitise plc

Monitise plc (MONI.L), the mobile money people, has created the world's first mobile banking networks, which allow customers of multiple banks and mobile operators to perform banking and payment transactions directly from their mobile handset.

With live services in the UK and the USA, where it has delivered the MONILINK and Monitise networks in partnership with VocaLink and Metavante Corporation respectively, the Company is currently working with international partners to deliver similar safe, secure mobile banking & payment services in territories worldwide.

Current key partners include VocaLink, Metavante, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, first direct, Alliance & Leicester, Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest, Vodafone, Orange, O2, T-Mobile and Hutchison 3G.

www.monitisegroup.com