He joined keynote speakers Martin Ras, co-founder of Ching Payments, Samson Isa, head of value added services at Globacom and Grant van Wyk, head of mobile design and development at Pbel to explain it is time for developing markets across Africa to understand and benefit from the convergence of payment systems and relevant technology with the social graph.
The point of contact between financial services and social networks facilitated by mobile money platforms is a high-growth market across the global ICT sector and Africa has a role to play.
Steyn said the continent has a very strong, growing mobile user base that is well acquainted with social networks. "There are many cases of mobile users not having access to email, but they have Facebook to connect their friends. This is the same market that has explosive needs for payment and banking services and the next growth market for smart phone technology. ZunguZ connects these three areas. Africa's mobile penetration continues to escalate, with user figures in excess of 700 million. Access to personal financial management through secure, cost-free platforms makes sense."
"The panel discussion was vibrant and of great interest because it covered a number of aspects of the mobile money market that people want to know more about. These aspects include partnerships between operators and financial institutions, as well as new services being rolled out that add value to consumers and that continue to shape the industry across Africa."
Management at the company says there is consensus in the industry that the growth of mobile payment technology will help drive development within the financial sectors of regions throughout Africa.
ZunguZ, a US registered company with offices in Palo Alto and Cape Town, acts as a platform for global financial service providers, merchants and customers to connect at the point of transaction. It can be activated through www.facebookpayments.co.za. For more information, go to www.zunguz.com.
