Clickatell, leader in high-value enterprise messaging, announced today that Len Pienaar, former CEO of FNB's M-Commerce division, joins Clickatell to strengthen the company's management team and financial services market position.
Len has many years of experience in mobile banking deployments and in providing banking services that consumers are able to easily use conveniently from their mobile phone. Len's expertise, combined with Clickatell's decade of high value enterprise messaging experience, will advance the use of the mobile phone in enterprise and financial services deployments in Africa and around the world.
“The intersection of mobile with all kinds of financial services applications are greatly anticipated and it's expected that 2010 will be a year of tremendous growth, which is in line with Gartner's recent predictions, which puts 'mobile transfers via SMS' at the top of the list for 2012,” commented Pieter de Villiers, Clickatell CEO.
“Len's leadership and vision in opening mobile channels for FNB is admired and respected by his peers and the competition. And, as mobile operators accelerate their financial services initiatives, banks will look to value added providers, such as Clickatell, to help launch strategic mobile banking deployments, of which our enterprise messaging platforms will form a core component. We're excited to welcome Len to our team as Clickatell continues to help innovate and advance the convergence of mobile and money.”
Holding strategic positions at MTN and Cell C, two leading mobile operators in Africa, Len joined FNB, the fourth largest bank in Africa, in 2004. During his tenure at FNB, Len led the strategy and deployment of several 'world first' mobile banking services and received local and international awards - most recently FNB was awarded with the coveted Celent Model Bank Award for their mobile banking initiatives. All from the mobile phone, FNB customers can check account balances, get account mini statements, transfer money between FNB accounts, make third-party payments, purchase mobile prepaid airtime for themselves or someone else, purchase prepaid electricity, pay traffic fines, make 'Cell Pay Point' purchases on merchants' online Web sites, apply for loans and much more.
“I'm looking forward to applying what I've learned and broadly apply it to this remarkable market. Clickatell is fast emerging as the leader in Africa, trusted by operators and banks alike,” Pienaar commented. “I am looking forward to become an 'offering provider' to help companies realise the potential that a solid mobile strategy can bring to their business. The successes we are seeing with mobile financial services in South Africa are a good indicator of the impact mobile phones can have on an industry. What specifically excites me is the opportunity to do this across a myriad markets and regions. Clickatell's deep financial services experience, combined with a large geographical footprint, positions them well to advance the mobile financial services marketplace abroad, specifically in the United States, where banks are just now starting to take a look at mass mobile banking services. I am looking forward to hitting the ground running and to begin working with their customers and Clickatell's team of mobile experts.”
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