SA mobile payment application eyes local market

A new mobile payment application – ‘Ukheshe Africa’ developed in South Africa is identifying business-to-business opportunities for the platform across the African continent, as cashless trend gains momentum. Although the platform has been focused on South Africa, Ukheshe has now set eyes on the Southern Africa bloc and beyond.

“There are already opportunities underway for the micro-payment platform in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Nigeria, Malawi, Botswana and Angola,” said Mark Dankworth, the newly appointed Executive Director of Ukheshe Africa. Dankworth said the need for a cashless society is a rising trend and a strategic global imperative. 

He further said the platform intends to bridge the gap of the unbanked in the society. “If the unbanked continue to have limited access to proper financial solutions, they remain barred from the majority of the continent’s economic activities. This, in turn, results in a reliance on limited retail opportunities, inability to access credit, and thus often paying more for goods and services,” said Dankworth.

Dankworth says the company will look to establish relationships with key players in the various markets Ukheshe is a micro transaction platform launched in November 2018 and allows card holders to pay and get paid. On the local market several mobile payment systems support by mobile network providers have been launched over the years and have seen several retailers and service providers leverage on them to collect payments.