Southern Africa
Pick n Pay Launches South Africa’s Newest MVNO
Pick n Pay has officially launched PnP Mobile – South Africa’s newest Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO). The service will use MTN’s mobile network infrastructure to offer customers prepaid, SIM-based access to services including airtime, data, and SMS. Smart Shoppers will earn data rewards in addition to loyalty points when shopping at any Pick n Pay store countrywide – including Express, Clothing and Liquor stores. They will also be able to earn up to 2.5GB in free data rewards each month. For every R10 spent in-store, customers will instantly earn 5MB in data. To qualify for this reward, customers will need to link their Smart Shopper card and top up their PnP Mobile SIM card with at least R50 over a 30-day period. Customers will be able to register their new SIM c...
How COVID-19 is Driving eCommerce in South Africa
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a serious toll on shopper behaviour, not only from a decline in spending but also in how they shop. With social distancing restrictions, a possible second wave of infections, and adaptations to new lifestyles, the crisis is driving more traffic to South African eCommerce merchants than before. Recently, the GetApp SA Customer Experience Survey asked South Africans how the pandemic is changing the way they shop – here’s what they had to say: How has shopper behaviour changed during lockdown? During the various levels of lockdown, there have been varying degrees of social and merchandise restrictions as well as depreciating disposable income. Many people can’t shop as they did before and this has led to 42% of people saying that they have spent les...
FNB Expects 10% eCommerce Transaction Boost on Black Friday
FNB says that it is expecting a 10% increase in the total number of eCommerce transactions over Black Friday and Cyber Monday – as many consumers who participate in Black Friday may opt to shop online instead of going into brick and mortar stores. This is comparable to 2019 where Black Friday weekend transaction volumes on FNB POS (Point of Sale) devices grew by 32% compared to 2018, while eCommerce transactions grew over 30%. FNB also says that its merchants have also upped their game by investing in their platforms to ensure a seamless sales experience, regardless of the types of devices used by consumers when shopping. One such example is increased support for QR Code payments, where the customer opts to checkout through simply scanning the presented QR Code to pay. FNB Virtual Cr...
Mukuru Expands Reach in Southern Africa
Mukuru is expanding its footprint across Southern Africa. This comes after the remittance provider announced it has seen a 20-fold increase in monthly transactions within Zimbabwe. “As we grow our physical footprint in Southern Africa and bring our services to more people by way of booths and an entrepreneurial agent network, this growth is being complemented by the progressive digitisation of key steps in the Mukuru payments process,” says Andy Jury, CEO of Mukuru. “With more and more digital access points over USSD, WhatsApp and the Mukuru App, for instance, customers are becoming increasingly comfortable with things like self-sign up, including digital KYC and onboarding, which is not only raising our brand presence, but is shifting customers that much closer to financial inclusion and ...
FNB Virtual Credit Card Delayed, Confirms CEO
FNB Card CEO, Chris Labuschagne has revealed that the bank will delay the launch of its virtual credit cards until 2021 – a strategic move that is said to “ensure that the launch process goes as smoothly as possible for its customers”. “FNB is excited to confirm that it has successfully completed the pilot of its Virtual Card. In order to enable a seamless transition for customers, the Bank has decided to delay the launch of its Virtual Card to 2021,” say Labuschagne in a statement to My Broadband. “We are excited at the prospect of offering exceptional customer experience and a convenient and safer way to help customers manage money.” The bank unveiled the virtual credit cards – along with debit cards – earlier this year. Raj Makanjee, FNB Payments Executive ...
MTN South Africa Partners with Ozow to Make MoMo Transfers Simpler
MTN South Africa has partnered with Ozow to make loading funds simpler for Mobile Money (MoMo) users. “We see this partnership as one more step in our efforts at displacing cash and enabling greater digital and financial inclusion for all South Africans. The rapid growth of mobile money services this year points to the growing demand among South Africans for safe and efficient ways to store, send and spend money via their mobile device,” says Thomas Pays, CEO and co-founder at Ozow. MTN MoMo was launched at the beginning of 2020 and crossed the one million user milestone in June. It offers users an easy way to send money to friends and family members as well as access to a range of value-added services such as purchasing prepaid electricity, renewing car licence discs, and purchasing produ...
Econet Teams Up with Alphabet to Expand Network Connectivity in Africa
Econet has teamed up with X’s Project Taara – Alphabet’s moonshot factory (formerly known as Google [x]) – to expand and enhance affordable, high-speed connectivity to communities across Sub-Saharan Africa. This makes it the first roll-out of Taara’s wireless optical communication technology in Africa. Taara’s links offer fibre-like speed internet access in areas where it’s not economically viable, or too difficult to install fibre, for example, over rivers or in areas where it is unsafe to dig trenches for cables. Econet will deploy Taara’s technology in Africa across Liquid Telecom’s Fibre Optic Backbone and Mobile Network Infrastructure starting in Kenya. “This technology and our partnership with Taara forms an important building block towards realising our vision of a digitally c...
Four reasons why SA app developers should integrate their apps with Huawei Mobile Services (HMS)
Since the launch of HUAWEI AppGallery, Huawei’s app store, in 2019 Huawei has been focused on assisting app developers. Huawei’s approach has always been to ensure that consumers get the best of both local and global apps on their devices, which means that it places great importance on making sure that SA developers get all they need from Huawei to develop and integrate their apps with Huawei Mobile Services (HMS). Here are four reasons why SA app developers should integrate their apps with HMS: Developers have access to global markets By integrating apps to HMS, developers have more exposure to Huawei’s device base, increasing the number of consumers who have access to their apps via HUAWEI AppGallery. Over 490 million people in 170 countries are monthly active users of Huawei mobil...
Telkom Reports 19% Increase in Mobile Subscribers
Telkom South Africa has revealed its interim results for the six months ending 30 September 2020. The telco was driven by a 19% increase in mobile subscribers – reaching 13.7 million – to claim the position of South Africa’s third mobile operator. Telkom delivered solid EBITDA growth despite a slight revenue decrease of 0.4% to R21.4 billion in the face of difficult trading conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Telkom’s decision to invest in infrastructure ahead of demand enabled us to meet the surge in demand and weather the acceleration of the decline in fixed voice revenue during the national lockdown,” says Sipho Maseko, Telkom Group CEO. Telkom Mobile expanded margin by 13.2 ptts to 29.9%, optimised direct cost to revenue ratio from 53% in the prior period to 38% and more t...
Showmax Introduces Subscription-Free Streaming Service
Showmax has launched a subscription-free streaming service in South Africa – ‘Showmax Free’. This service is expected to feature “hand-picked content slate that gives customers an opportunity to sample some of Showmax’s entertainment”. Showmax Free will feature local movies, series and sports shows. Users will be able to stream movies and binge-watch the first few episodes of available series for free – however, they will see adverts during playback and be prompted to upgrade to Showmax paid plans. Customers will be able to upgrade to the ad-free Showmax entertainment catalogue to access complete seasons of the latest local and international series, blockbuster movies and kids’ content. For live sport, users will need to subscribe to Showmax Pro. “Ad-supported streaming services are a grow...
Huawei Watch GT2 Pro Launches in South Africa
Huawei has revealed that its Watch GT2 Pro is now available in South Africa. The latest addition to the Watch GT series boasts a long-lasting two-week battery life and a broad range of exercise and health functions, as well as offering professional guidance and intelligent smart control features. This flagship smartwatch launches with a rugged design featuring premium materials, including a sapphire watch crystal, titanium case and skin-friendly ceramic case back that combines with another sapphire glass black to enhance monitoring accuracy and wearing comfort. Additionally, the Watch GT 2 Pro supports apps to provide a convenient means for users to get even more features. Huawei also plans to further augment the smart experience on offer in the future. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_fea.td-a-rec...
ASUS Introduces the ZenBook Flip 13
ASUS has recently introduced its ZenBook Flip 13 to South Africa. The laptop is made up of a fully convertible touchscreen and is powered by the latest Intel 11th gen CPU with a hybrid power mode. It can operate as default clocks providing enough power for everyday tasks and saving battery life. But it also can boost and give up to 40% of power increase for demanding tasks. We never had anything similar in a mobile CPU before. The ZenBook Flip 13 is equipped with a 13.3-inch FHD NanoEdge touchscreen, featuring slim 3.9 mm bezels that maximize the screen space while reducing the laptop’s footprint. ASUS ZenBook Flip 13 Key Specifications /* custom css */ .tdi_3_78f.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_78f.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Model Name UX363EA-I76512G0...
