Mahindra Comviva wins Kalahari Awards 2015 for Airtel Money NFC Payments in Tanzania

Michael Olawale Adetayo, Country Manager Mahindra Comviva, Nigeria received the Award

Mahindra Comviva, has emerged as the winner in the fifth edition of the Kalahari Awards 2015. The company has received the award in the “Best Mobile Money Product Innovation” category for technological innovation and excellence in NFC payment solutions.

Airtel Money Tanzania NFC Payments powered by Mahindra Comviva’s mobiquity® Money simplifies mobile merchant payments and also addresses customer and merchant related adoption challenges. The service facilitates sellers and buyers in Tanzania with easy, reliable, and secure ways of transacting and making day-to-day payments.

Airtel Money is one of the leading mobile money services in Tanzania with 4.3 million registered customers. It is a first-of-its-kind closed-loop NFC payments service that brings a paradigm shift in mobile money-based merchant payments in Tanzania, which was so far, performed via USSD and SMS.

Commenting on the achievement Srinivas Nidugondi, Senior VP and Head of Mobile Financial Solutions at Mahindra Comviva, “In a market like Tanzania given the right mix of consumer access and merchant acceptance, mobile payments has become the most convenient and ubiquitous way to make digital payments. We understand that the future of digital is now and with the introduction of NFC payment for developing markets, our aim is to bring the payments experience in emerging countries at par with the developed markets. The award motivates us to continue our focus on innovative digital payment propositions and encourages us to deliver value, convenience, and a secure alternative to cash for consumers and businesses alike.”

Congratulating Mahindra Comviva on the Award, Sunil Colaso, Managing Director, Airtel Tanzania said,” Mahindra Comviva as our solutions partner was the ideal choice given its deep industry expertise and strategic focus to build services that deliver value to customers across all segments. Our partnership is taking us one step closer to drive financial inclusion in Tanzania and provide users with quick and convenient way to make mobile merchant payments and deepen NFC’s foothold in the African region.”

The Kalahari Awards honor organizations that have made significant contributions to the digital financial services sector and are poised to make considerable market impact in the future. The Awards are dedicated to acknowledging creativity, commitment and excellence in the mobile financial services across Africa. The award presented during the 5th Mobile Money Expo in Lagos, Nigeria is recognition of Mahindra Comviva’s commitment to accelerate the adoption of digital commerce through its comprehensive portfolio of solutions catering to the entire ecosystem – consumers, merchants, and banks. The mobile financial suite of products powers over 120 mobile services in 55 countries and serves over 750 million mobile users globally.

Mobile devices have enabled emerging markets like Tanzania, a window to offer customers a full range of integrated financial services on mobile. Mahindra Comviva is continuously working towards building a viable, vibrant payments ecosystem enabling businesses and consumers to enter into mutually rewarding relationships. With mobiquity Money, service providers can enable banked and unbanked consumers to transact money and make payments seamlessly. mobiquity Money empowers consumers with a mobile stored valued account for conducting a wide range of financial transactions quickly and efficiently. Backed with multi-level, bank-grade security for service and payment, it helps reduce fraud and increase consumer trust and confidence.