Nation Media Group, DTB unveil money transfer service
BUSINESS
By BiztechAfrica - Aug. 16, 2012, 12:03 p.m.
By Semaj Itosno, Nairobi, Kenya
Kenya’s largest media firm, Nation Media Group has plunged into the money transfer business.
The media House, touted to be the largest in East Africa, has partnered with sister company, Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) (both owned by the Agakhan) to unveil a money transfer service dubbed NationHela.
The card has been operating on a pilot basis among the Nation Media Group staff and this is the official launch to open the service to the general public.
Retailing at Sh500, the card allows customers to send and receive money from anywhere in the globe with the funds being credited straight into their NationHela prepaid Visa cards.
Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) will provide the technology for the service as well as a customer care centre for card/account holders.
According to a communiqué from the company, the NationHela card is available at DTB’s 40 branches.
Nation Media Group CEO Linus Gitahi said the service will serve more than 2.6 million Kenyans who regularly receive money from relatives and friends living abroad.
Gitahi said the prepaid Visa card is unlike any other debit or credit card as it is not linked to a bank account and is compatible with several other money transfer services.
“A user can top up the card through DTB branches and NationHela agents or directly from M-pesa and Airtel Money accounts…upon purchasing the card, users can activate it using their mobile phones by dialing the USSD code *348# and following the prompts,” reads the statement in part.
The card is also retailed at Nakumatt and Uchumi supermarkets across Kenya.
MORE BUSINESS NEWS
Yahoo! MEA exec resigns to launch emerging markets social TV
Ahmed Nassef has announced that he has left his role as Yahoo's Vice President and Managing Director for Middle East and Africa to found Telfez. Read MoreSwift Networks acquires DoPC
In a major development, Swift Networks has announced that it has acquired the long term evolution (LTE) or 4G business of Direct on PC (DoPC). Read MoreAfrica must think beyond blue collar jobs
Pan-African job creation initiatives need to look beyond basic job creation, to high level ICT skills development, to develop the economies, says Greg Vercellotti, executive director at Dariel Solutions. Read MoreInterswitch moves for growth
Pan-African integrated payment processing and transaction switching company Interswitch has spun off two of its core divisions for growth. Read MoreChina-Africa Development Fund opens industrial park in SA
Electronics firm Hisense has officially opened its new Home Appliances Industrial Park in Atlantis in Western Cape, South Africa. Read MoreUSD100m to support trade finance in Africa
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has formally signed a USD 100 million unfunded Risk Participation agreement (RPA) with Commerzbank AG to support trade finance in Africa. Read MoreRed tape slows business in Africa
The sheer complexity of travelling to many African countries is hampering the roll-out of business there, says Carlos Ferraz, GM of Motorola Solutions. Read MoreAgambire calls on foreign students to bring knowledge home
rlg Chief Executive Roland Agambire has told African youth living and studying abroad they have a moral duty to return to their countries and bring their international knowledge to bear on ongoing reconstruction efforts on the continent. Read MoreIDC: another ‘remarkable quarter’ for MEA tablet market
The tablet market in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region grew 184% year on year in the first quarter of 2013, says IDC. Read MoreLondon conference to focus on investment in Guinea
Following on from a Mining Code Briefing on 12 June, the ‘Invest in Guinea’ initiative is organising an all-day Invest in Guinea Conference on 13 June in London. Read MoreRELATED STORIES
FEATURED STORY
Red tape slows business in AfricaThe sheer complexity of travelling to many African countries is hampering the roll-out of business there, says Carlos Ferraz, GM of Motorola Solutions.
BEST READ NEWS
IN DEPTH
Africa must think beyond blue collar jobsPan-African job creation initiatives need to look beyond basic job creation, to high level ICT skills development, to develop the economies, says Greg Vercellotti, executive director at Dariel Solutions.