Page 102 - SAMENA Trends - April-May 2021

ARTICLE SAMENA TRENDS

of governments immediate reactions to Middle East experienced a boom in the number of mobile
the economic downturn as shown by
illustration 1. As an example, the Moroccan payment services during the pandemic as well. Telco
government released a statement that operators such as Etisalat launched their new mobile
informal workers in Morocco were able wallet, available in 17 of its global operations. As the
to receive government aids quickly and
efficiently using mobile money. trend towards mobile money services increased in 2020,
other telco operators such as Telkom, MTN, and Vodacom
Telcos response with customer favourable
terms enabled steep adoption responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by lower fees,
Safaricom, the largest telecom operator in offering new credit services, and expanding of mobile
Kenya, reduced usage fees on East Africa’s
leading mobile money solution, M-Pesa, payment networks among the key responses to COVID-19
shortly after the outbreak of COVID-19 in in the SAMENA region.
March 2020. After meeting with the Central
Bank of Kenya, Safaricom explored new region has seen significant uptake in active or were mandated to do so by government
ways of increasing mobile money usage accounts and transaction value compared legislation to support the local economy
to reduce the risk of spreading the virus to the global growth. and grow their business at the same time.
through physical cash. In addition, the As many customers may have now grown
company removed the daily transaction To grow the mobile money business accustomed to low or no transaction
volume to encourage cashless payments further, goetzpartners has identified fees, telcos should adapt to these new
and to support the Kenyan population several success factors for operators to conditions and extend the low fees beyond
during the pandemic. gain a competitive edge in the market. COVID-19 restrictions and instead look for
other ways to monetize their systems by
Middle East experienced a boom in the Building a dedicated mobile money offering additional services surrounding
number of mobile payment services during salesforce mobile money.
the pandemic as well. Telco operators Today already, most telcos in mobile
such as Etisalat launched their new money markets have dedicated sales Offering superior recharge conditions for
mobile wallet, available in 17 of its global forces, called mobile money agents. Often prepaid top-up via mobile money
operations. As the trend towards mobile traveling in teams, mobile money agents The provision of superior recharge
money services increased in 2020, other cover large parts of the country, targeting conditions for airtime top-ups via mobile
telco operators such as Telkom, MTN, highly frequented locations such as money is another powerful incentive.
and Vodacom responded to the COVID-19 weekly markets or the large cities' main Benefits are typically granted in the form
pandemic by lower fees, offering new credit streets. Rather than trying to lure people of multipliers on purchased airtime (e.g.,
services, and expanding of mobile payment into shops, deploying such sales teams receive double the data/ airtime for a given
networks among the key responses to is much more effective because they go recharge value) and are very effective when
COVID-19 in the SAMENA region. where the crowds are and directly engaging it comes to converting existing mobile
with (potential) customers. customers to mobile money.
Ultimately, mobile money experienced
some breath-taking growth in the SAMENA Adjusting to a new low-fee environment Building an attractive ecosystem of diverse
region in 2020. Particularly the MENA Many players waived their fees altogether partners
Operators needs to build an attractive
platform, including favorable pricing
conditions and standardized API that allow
partners to connect easily and at minimal
costs. It needs to Actively recruit a diverse
set of partners including merchants,
employers, government agencies, banks,
and even other telcos. With the addition
of every new customer, the value of the
network increases, eventually unleashing
powerful exponential growth.

Given the steep uptake in active accounts
driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now
a crucial time for telcos to ride the wave
and leverage it to accelerate the reach and
Illustration 2: Mobile Money Growth, Source: GSMA growth from this offering.

102 APRIL-MAY 2021