Splash Mobile Money Ltd and MoreMagic Solutions, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oberthur Technologies, announced that it has expanded the Splash Mobile Money ecosystem in Sierra Leone to include DStv, two additional commercial banks (Access Bank and Ecobank Microfinance) and the national network of nearly 50 rural banks set up by the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Ministry of Agriculture.
MoreMagic is the technology provider behind the Splash Mobile Money service. With MoreMagic’s platform, stakeholders are able to interconnect within a mobile commerce ecosystem to enable a secure service that is available to all mobile customers across Sierra Leone, irrespective of their service provider.
“The continued expansion of the Splash ecosystem means a richer experience for our customers,” said Daniel Osei-Antwi, managing director, Splash Mobile Money Ltd. “We are delighted that the flexibility of MoreMagic’s platform has not only allowed us to scale, but has also enabled us to expand our portfolio of services by introducing new stakeholders to our ecosystem. Many of these new partners and clients have large regional footprints that present a compelling opportunity for growth beyond Sierra Leone in the near future.”
Splash is bringing greater convenience to more than 5,000 DStv customers who are now able to make payments for their satellite subscriptions direct from their mobile phones.
Previously, customers had to queue up at a DStv agent location to pay for additional credit and then wait for their account to be updated. Now they can make these payments from anywhere using their mobile phones and their account is credited immediately. After this successful deployment in Sierra Leone, the parties involved are now exploring opportunities in other markets across Africa, where DStv boasts more than 4 million subscribers in over 40 countries.
Launched in 2009, after a successful pilot operation with MoreMagic which saw over 12,000 customers register for the service in less than 4 months, Splash operates across all mobile networks in Sierra Leone and aims to drive economic empowerment throughout the country by banking the unbanked, and bringing more convenience to the banked population as well as established businesses.
The combination of Access, Ecobank and Splash’s original partner, Guaranty Trust Bank, represents a significant step towards achieving these goals. Also, the rural bank partnerships will allow Splash to extend its services to residents and workers in nearly 50 provincial areas with limited access to basic financial services.
In addition to DStv, Splash has attracted other business customers to its cross mobile operator model. One of the largest Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) in Sierra Leone (with 20,000 borrowers) is using Splash for loan disbursements and repayments, and there are many more in the pipeline planning to start from early 2013.
In addition, a juice processing factory that sources products from farmers all over the country is using Splash to make payments, and several multinational organisations including Oxfam, International Rescue Committee, Innovations for Poverty Action and UNDP have embraced Splash to make bulk transfers to field staff dispersed around the country.
