Billing and Payment Solutions by Joan Mwaura of Oxygen 8 Group

Joan Mwaura, CEO for East Africa at Oxygen 8 Group, explains what the group provides on the corporate side, in terms of billing and payment solutions.

“The billing and corporate side is the oldest business that we have. We offer a wide range of billing and payment solutions to clients. We offer payment solutions to banking. They already have their own banking system, but the banking system is wired a certain way and technology keeps changing. In Kenya now, all the banks must have M-PESA because it is easier to do a deposit digitally rather than going to the bank. For Safaricom, the main issue is communication. They are not trying to offer solutions to the bank and the bank needs to cater to their needs. There are always gaps that are left in the market. As much as the banks need to work with the telecos, there is a bridge that needs to be there. In terms of even the CRM, if they take a solution like Oracle and the big providers, it does not translate to our market as it is. We are very mobile oriented. So, if a bank does not have the mobile platform, or is not offering such a solution, then they will be left behind. If people are moving from the generation where they actually go and bank money physically and you are left behind, then it means you are losing a customer base. The banks that have grown have done so because they have exploited that niche in the market. We offer solutions that will help integrate what you already have with the tech that is changing. We are not competing with banks. I am not a wallet. We do not keep money and we are not competing with them in terms of deposits, so banks do not feel threatened. In terms of telecos, I am just providing a solution to their clients. I come and sit on both platforms and I make them integrate seamlessly. It means if you have merchants who need to move money B to B or B to C, a solution that may not be offered by the bank or the teleco, there is always a gap that is left in between and we offer that. In terms of even customer communication, you need to send messages to your clients. If you withdraw money, you ought to get an alert for your transactions. We offer those solutions to banks in terms of transactional messages when you deposit. In terms of CRM, it is not yet here, but in Ireland and the UK, we also have the anti-fraud mechanism. We work with companies like the banks and VISA. If you normally use your card in France, but you are traveling and you swiped your card in Nairobi, it creates a trigger where someone calls you within less than a minute to ask whether that was you. If it was not you, your card is canceled and locked out. We are becoming a global village, but we started solutions that are very locally based. With Tola and Dynamic Mobile Billing, we offer solutions across the board. Tola is integrated in the African market. When buying through Amazon, you have to set up your PayPal account, go through the process, put in where the product will be delivered. Someone like G4S could deliver here because I can pay through M-PESA. I can give them my details and they will come up to where I am because the telecos already have your location. If it is on, you can even track where your courier is. We offer solutions that have been left by big tech companies who have made a solution that is more blanketed. We come in and customize such solutions to work for you and your clients and your business. If I give you a targeted solution for you, then it makes your work easier. Your target market is different. If you take it as NIC or CBA and adopt it you will find the gaps that are still left. Tola comes and plugs into your system and whether it is the teleco or whether it is a communication issue, we will come and make it as seamless as possible and make the various platforms communicate. It becomes very easy for you to run your operations”, says Joan Mwaura.

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