Johannesburg, 15 Oct 2021
Digital payments services provider, mojaPay has unveiled an exciting new innovative financial products and services app, primarily targeted at people and businesses in the townships and rural areas. This app is aimed at bringing more convenience and inclusion to masses of customers and businesses in addition to creating business opportunities for people who can sign up as an agent and sell the products offered in the app for commission earning. The app has been developed to take advantage of the increasing smartphone penetration and improving internet coverage in these target areas.
Technology, in general, has evolved tremendously over the past decade, where long winding queues are no longer the norm. The current COVID-19 pandemic has also accelerated the need to be able to do things from the comfort of your home because of the risk of exposure to the virus. Even though some consumers no longer carry cash around to pay for products and services as they are banked and have access to a bank card, the majority of South Africans in the townships and rural areas still use cash extensively. This is also driven by the lack of infrastructure to accept cards as a means of payment in these areas, mainly because of the cost associated with the infrastructure required to process these card transactions.
As a 100% Black-owned and managed fintech, and with its founders coming from the townships and rural areas, mojaPay has positioned itself to infiltrate the township and rural economy markets. While coupled with a strong customer-centric approach and understanding of their target market, agility and technology expertise, mojaPay delivers affordable financial inclusion services and products, while saving a tremendous amount of money for its clients, in addition to empowering the customers and businesses in these areas through digital inclusion.
mojaPay, which revamped its platform and rebranded from digiToken, offers a range of digital and financial products and services to the unbanked and underbanked – including consumers and businesses in the townships, and soon across the African continent.
As a totally homegrown and built ground-up enterprise-grade fintech platform, mojaPay is driven by consumers who are influenced by the digital age and are demanding modern financial products and services at acceptable pricing. The consumer is permanently connected and mobile, thanks to the continuous decline in data costs and the rise in the adoption of smartphones.
Although cash is still the preferred payment method for the majority of Africans as they are unbanked or underbanked, digital payments are booming. In a report looking at payments trends, consulting and research firm PwC reveals that cashless transaction volume in Africa will grow to 78% in Africa by 2025 from 64% in 2020. Global cashless payment volumes are set to almost double from 2020 to 2025, from about 1 trillion transactions to about 1.9 trillion, PwC said. This identified trend requires solutions that are fit and purpose-built for customers and businesses who operate in these environments so that they can take advantage of the changing face of payments.
About 20 million South Africans, especially in the townships and rural areas, don't have bank accounts and are seen as financially excluded. Most businesses (whether formal and informal) also use cash to transact, causing a financial risk and cost for bigger merchants and suppliers. These merchants and suppliers end up paying a high cost of processing payments and cash management.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic started in early 2020, the local e-commerce market saw unprecedented growth leading to new developments in payment technologies. The convenience of digital financial services tools and platforms is that companies like mojaPay are able to adapt faster to specific customer needs and get millions of underserved people on board, bridging the financial and digital divide in the process.
Co-founders Kagisho Dichabe and Xolisa Vuza confirmed that mojaPay is at the forefront in the race to the digital and cashless future for the unbanked and underbanked communities. "We are not a bank and don’t aspire to become one. Our digital financial services and products will, however, ensure inclusivity for millions of people in our townships that are unable to access mainstream financial services/products, in addition to driving convenience and opportunities for these masses of people," explained Xolisa Vuza.
Kagisho Dichabe further added that “mojaPay – as a true superApp, is a digital community platform for South African consumers and businesses (especially the informal vendors), that allows seamless payments and transactions, along with access to other financial products and services”.
The mojaPay superApp can be downloaded from the Google Play Store and Apple's App Store. Once registered on the app as an individual, agent or merchant, customers can make quick, immediate and secure transactions such as to scan a QR code to pay for products at participating merchants such as general retail shops, spaza shops, informal vendors and suppliers of products. Customers can also currently access more than 250 products and services on the platform. These include, but are not limited to, sending and requesting moja vouchers (1 moja = R1) to the loved ones in need; mojas transfer; insurance payments; bill payments including municipality and accounts; DStv subscription, airtime and electricity purchases. The revamped mojaPay platform easily enables grant recipients to receive and spend their grant payments with ease.
As part of the relaunch, mojaPay has also introduced the agents' concept that aims to increase the platform’s footprint in the townships. This will also catalyse the creation of much-needed jobs and income for the youth in South African townships and rural areas.
Vuza explains that “entities, whether a group of organised individuals, sports clubs, churches and/or taxi organisations with massive following or membership can join our agents' community. They will onboard new clients and have access to all services and products on the mojaPay Platform.”
"Being an agent is another way for customers to increase revenue for themselves and possibly use the platform for their members to pay their membership fees or donations, in the case of large agents," says Vuza.
mojaPay founders are excited to bring these much needed financial inclusive services and products to the people in the townships and rural areas that they come from while creating critical jobs for the youth, women and persons unable to earn a living as a result of a disability.
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