Johannesburg - MTN Group will look for new ways to bring
banking services to its customers’ mobile phones in South Africa after severing
ties with Australian-owned partner, Tyme.
Africa’s biggest mobile-phone operator scrapped the
Mobile Money payment service it ran with Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s
Tyme due to a “lack of commercial viability,” said Maxwell Nonge, chief digital
officer of the Johannesburg-based company’s local unit, without giving further
detail. MTN retains a banking license together with a second partner, South
African Bank of Athens, and can use that as a platform for new deals, he said.
“MTN is committed to remain a significant player in
financial services and continues to explore opportunities in this space,” Nonge
said in e-mailed comments on Tuesday.
MTN’s focus on its financial services and digital banking
operations has sharpened following a wave of hires with experience in the
industry. Rob Shuter, who starts as chief executive officer on March 17, has
worked for both Standard Bank Group and Nedbank Group Stephen van Coller, MTN’s
head of strategy, mergers and acquisitions, was CEO of Barclays Africa’s
investment bank and incoming CFO Ralph Mupita was
previously head of insurer Old Mutual's emerging markets unit.
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Mobile Money had gained 5 million customers since its
launch in 2012. Vodacom Group, the South African unit of Vodafone Group,
stopped offering its mobile-banking product M-Pesa in the country as the
strength of the banking system means fewer customers are taking up the service
than in other sub-Saharan African markets.
Tyme competing
For Tyme, the loss of the MTN alliance leaves the firm
with supermarket chain Pick n Pay Stores Ltd. as its sole partner with direct
access to South African consumers. While the Johannesburg-based company is
trying to secure a banking license in the country, several developers have quit
to join insurer OUTsurance, Johannesburg-based Business Day reported. Rolf
Eichweber, the executive head of strategic partnerships and a co-founder of the
company, resigned last month.
Tyme, which stands for Take Your Money Everywhere, can
compete effectively in South Africa without MTN’s backing, spokeswoman Thoraya
Pandy said on Monday. While Tyme’s website still notes its Mobile Money
partnership with MTN, this information is “old and incorrect” and will be
“fixed,” Pandy said.
South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe’s African
Rainbow Capital Pty will buy a 10 percent stake in Tyme, CBA said on Wednesday.
ARC, as it’s known, will introduce black shareholders, Commonwealth Bank of
Australia said, adding that through the Pick n Pay alliance Tyme has 685 kiosks
and has registered 100 000 customer enrollments.