Behind the Scenes of Africa’s Digital Finance: Virtual Pay’s White-Label Strategy for Banks and Financial institutions
In this section of the interview with David Morema, CEO of Virtual Pay, he explains why the company has been cautious about extending its services to the retail market. Morema highlights that the primary challenge lies in client acquisition and market penetration, which can be both resource-intensive and slow when targeting individual consumers.
Instead, Virtual Pay has chosen to focus on its core clientele: banks and larger financial institutions. According to Morema, this strategic focus enables the company to maximize its impact by providing seamless, white-labelled payment solutions that these institutions can offer to their own clients. He emphasizes that Virtual Pay does not view itself as a competitor to banks and financial institutions. Rather, the company positions itself as a collaborator and partner, enhancing the financial ecosystem by helping banks deliver cutting-edge payment services under their own brand.
This approach, Morema explains, not only aligns with Virtual Pay’s strengths but also allows for scalable growth and sustained innovation within the financial services sector.
In his words, David Morema says “We are very reluctant to enter the retail market with our product due to the challenges of client acquisition and market penetration. Instead, our primary focus is on collaborating with banks and other larger financial institutions. We see banks as strategic partners because they already have established client bases. Rather than competing with them, we offer our product as a white-label solution. Our branded version is known as VP Smart, available for download on the App Store. However, we provide flexibility for other financial institutions to brand the product according to their preferences and distribute it to their merchants.
We believe this solution benefits banks by increasing their sales potential. It also extends to small business owners like taxi drivers and market vendors who operate mobile businesses and previously could not use POS machines due to their bulkiness and impracticality. Now, these individuals can use their own or provided Android phones equipped with VP Smart to accept payments. This accessibility expands banks’ reach into previously underserved markets.
Ultimately, by facilitating easier payment collection for smaller businesses, we anticipate broader economic convenience and growth across Africa”.
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