Youtap has launched Youtap Cloud; a payment-processing platform delivered as a cloud service for mobile money and payment providers in developing markets. Youtap Cloud enables real-time transaction processing for contactless mobile money and bank wallet payments. It supports QR code payments, as well as NFC technology, including low-cost micro point-of-sale (POS) devices, companion cards and ‘tap and pay’ using tags or wearables. The solution is a white-label service with minimal upfront costs, allowing the provider to focus on go-to-market initiatives and merchant acquisition. Youtap Cloud connects to banking and traditional payment networks through a range of interfaces and to blockchain…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
BY ISAAC SWILA In the last six years, heart-wrenching stories of domestic servants, mostly house helps, abusing children under their care have been awash in the media so much so that it is no longer treated as “hot news”. Put differently, the number of rogue house-helps either bullying, beating up, kidnapping or even killing children of their masters have been full throttle that it’s no longer shocking news in this part of the world. And as the vice continues unabated, its mind boggling that to date, even some of the most educated middle class couples still dare the devil by failing…
Leading financial services provider, Zamara has proposed a radical repositioning of Kenya’s current pensions system to enable it to include savings for wider priorities, such as financing the purchase of a home and education of children in addition to retirement saving. Speaking at the Zamara Annual Retirement Conference, Zamara CEO Sundeep Raichura said that enabling retirement fund members leverage their long term pension savings to address their immediate needs as well as retirement income would encourage Kenyans to set long term pension savings goals and in turn result in a higher level of savings in the country. “Based on surveys…
Hitachi Limited (TSE:6501, “Hitachi”) has launched Hitachi Vantara, a new business entity to leverage the broad portfolio of innovation, development and experience from across Hitachi Group of companies to deliver data-driven solutions for commercial and industrial enterprises. The new company will unify the operations of Hitachi Data Systems, Hitachi Insight Group, and Pentaho into a single integrated business as Hitachi Vantara to capitalise on Hitachi’s social innovation capability in both operational technologies (OT) and information technologies (IT). Hitachi has been a leader in OT for industries such as finance, government, manufacturing, power/energy and transportation for over 100 years, providing solutions…
Kenyans have finally gotten something they wanted since the moment the SGR became operational since they will now be able to enjoy the service of booking and paying for their tickets on Madaraka Express through their mobile phones. Customers will have to dial the USSD code *639# and correctly follow a series of prompts that will allow them to buy the tickets to any of the terminals. Apart from buying tickets, the USSD code can also be used to cancel tickets. “Through the platform, we hope to make it more convenient for Kenyans seeking to travel to plan their journey…
Imperial Bank depositors have written to the Central Bank of Kenya with a list of demands they want met in a bid to recover billions lost after the bank’s 2015 closure by the CBK. The depositors want Central Bank of Kenya held legally responsible for the collapse of mid-tier lender, Imperial Bank Limited. MMC Africa Law, which is instituting a class action on behalf of Imperial Bank depositors, gave the commercial banks’ regulator a 14-day notice last month to admit liability and furnish it with crucial documents that show CBK’s lapse in supervising the lender’s operations and depositors’ funds held…
By simply dialing *209#, investors can now directly buy and sell shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) in addition to accessing real-time market information thanks to a new self-service platform dubbed “M-Shares”. Accessible on USSD, thus availing it to a wider pool of investors with a phone, the mobile platform has opened a new and convenient investment opportunity for all Kenyans. Philip Odera, CEO, Stanbic Bank, said the groundbreaking platform will effectively remove barriers that previously stood in the way of investors interested in the NSE, and continues a journey to drive financial inclusion through enhanced access to capital…
Virscom, a Kenyan based company that mostly deals with technology, has entered the taxi sector by launching a new taxi hailing app, ShareCab. The new application is expected to charge drivers a flat rate membership rate of Sh2, 000 per month as compared to the other taxi hailing applications that charge through commissions. ShareCab is taking a different direction from the other taxi services as it focuses on the drivers more. With the drivers paying a flat fee, it means that they will be able to earn more. In addition, the company has not forgotten about the riders either as…
BY ANTONY MUTUNGA “Don’t look for the needle in the haystack. Just buy the haystack!” – John C. Bugle, founder of Vanguard Group Over the years, a lot has changed in the way people thought about investing. Investors in the past mostly depended on professional stock pickers to select stocks that were worthy to invest in. However, things have changed as people have been given the option of investing in all of the stock in the market. This was all possible thanks to John Clifton ‘Jack’ Bogle. In 1975, inspired by the works of Paul Samuelson in 1974, Charles Ellis…
Colgate-Palmolive has partnered with the Kenyan Dental Association to drive oral health message and ensure Kenyans have access to the right information and tools as part of the ongoing platform of dental check-ups. Themed “Keep Kenya Smiling”, Colgate aims to encourage Kenyans to brush their teeth twice a day because everyone deserves a future to smile about. Cheslin Twigg, Professional Relations Manager at Colgate-Palmolive East West Africa, said that based on the latest data from the World Health Organisation, there is approximately 1 dentist per 42,000 Kenyans, meaning many individuals have not had an experience with a dentist. “Those who…