Safaricom gets vendor to run higher capacity M-Pesa platform in Kenya -
http://www.nation.co.ke/.../-/cnls9gz/-/index.html
Quote:The new platform, to be complete in less than two years, will be owned and managed by the company locally and will have a higher capacity than the current system.
Currently M-Pesa is hosted and managed in Germany by Vodafone Group Plc, the biggest shareholder in Safaricom with a 40 per cent stake, which levies between 10 per cent and 25 per cent of M-Pesa revenues in royalties.
In the new arrangement, Safaricom will only pay royalty for using Vodafone’s intellectual property under a yet to be negotiated rate.
Kenyan telecoms have been increasing focus on mobile money and data as the next revenue streams in the wake of falling returns on the voice service segment.
The fight for the fast growing mobile money transfer sector went a notch higher last year with both Safaricom and Airtel launching a credit service though their respective brands; M-Pesa and Airtel Money.
But the players have expressed fears that the government’s move to impose a 10 per cent excise duty on all mobile money transaction fees could curtail the sector’s growth.
That statement in bold could see more revenues for mpesa bank if the fee is cut.
As for the mobile money tax, still not a fan of this excise by treasury. And I hope it will be reversed by sober policy makers in the next administration. No need to slam the brakes on the mobile money velocity when your plan is to ensure the unbanked money is forced into the economy to spur growth.
$15/barrel oil... The commodities lehman moment arrives as well as Sovereign debt volcano!