 | |
| Equitel | |
| Type | Private Subsidiary |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Headquarters | Nairobi, Kenya |
Area served | Kenya |
Key people |
|
| Products | Mobile money & telephony |
| Parent | Equity Group Holdings |
| Website | Homepage |
Finserve Africa Limited (doing business as Equitel) [1] is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in Kenya. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Equity Group Holdings and is using the Airtel Kenya [2] network as its carrier.
The Equitel brand was hailed by Equity Group as the "next big thing", as part of an overhaul dubbed "Equity 3.0". The move was to give Equity Bank the opportunity to continue its mission of furthering financial inclusion and innovative service offerings for all Kenyans by presenting their financial services offering on to a single platform which will make banking services more accessible, flexible convenient and more affordable. Airtel Kenya on their part stated that the partnership would increase their revenue by up to 10%. [3]
The brand made Equity Bank the first financial institution in Africa to offer a full banking suite through an MVNO.
Equity Bank, through its subsidiary Finserve Africa Limited, received its MVNO Licence on 11 April 2014, along with Tangaza Money and Zioncell Kenya. All which would run on Airtel Kenya's network, a move that was opposed by the Consumer Federation of Kenya, Safaricom and Telkom Kenya [4]
For the bank, the move was aimed at lowering their transaction costs by up to 47% as well as an added revenue stream by providing money transfer and other telco services to their 14.3 million customers. [5]
Due to the requirement to have a SIM card to access the service, users would therefore need an additional mobile phone or Dual SIM phone. Equity Bank overcame this challenge by adopting the use of 0.1 millimetres thick ultra-slim SIM cards from Taisys Solutions, using technology originally developed in China. [6] The ultra-slim SIM cards are placed at the back of normal SIM cards therefore tackling this challenge effectively. [7] This ultra-slim SIM cards would also come with Near Field Communication (NFC) capability that enables them to be swiped on the point of sale devices or ATM [8] thus converting a mobile phone into a credit or debit card.
Market leader Safaricom wrote to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) challenging the use of ultra-slim SIM cards stating that they could expose their subscribers to intercepted communication and financial fraud on M-Pesa service. [9] Despite this, Finserve Africa were granted a one-year trial period through the 0763xxxxxx prefix. [10]
On 22 September 2014, Safaricom stated that it would review its legal commitments to M-Pesa customers who opt to use the Equitel overlay SIM cards. [11] In addition, the CCK required Finserve Africa to make a written undertaking to compensate mobile phone subscribers for any losses they may incur during the one-year trial of its thin SIM, putting to test the company’s assertion that the technology is safe.
On 14 October 2014, Equity Bank Kenya started issuing ordinary SIM cards for telecommunication and mobile banking services to its 8.7 million customers across the country. [1]
In August 2018, Equity Group spun off its fintech arm into Finserve Africa Limited, a fully-owned subsidiary with its own board and management, headed by Jack Ngare.
As of December 2018, data from the Communications Authority of Kenya showed that Equitel was the second-biggest mobile-money transfer service in Kenya with over 2.075 million subscribers. During this period, they transacted a total of Ksh467.2 billion ($4.25 billion). This value was 22.04% of Kenya’s mobile money transactions. [12]
During 2020, the MVNO Equitel handled Ksh934 billion (approx $8.51 billion) in transaction value but the customer base had reduced to 1.8 million. As at March 2021, Equity Group’s Quarterly report showed Equitel registered a 163% volume growth of Ksh421.8 billion ($3.84 billion) from Ksh160.5 billion ($1.46 billion). [13]
On 12 August 2021, Equity announced the roll out of its LTE or fourth-generation (4G) broadband network service for Equitel SIM cards becoming the fifth telco in Kenya to offer 4G services. [14]
Equity Group Holdings plans to roll out their mobile virtual network in Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda through their partnership with Airtel Africa.
Equity Group Holdings is a largest financial services group in East Africa. As of June 2021, the group had an asset base valued at over US$10.2 billion (KES1.119 trillion), with a total customer base in excess of 14 million, in the region the group serves. [15] The companies that comprise the Equity Bank Group include the following: [16]
Shares of the stock of Equity Group Holdings Limited, the parent company of Finserve Africa Limited, are listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE), under the symbol EQTY. The Group's stock is also cross-listed on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE), under the symbol EBL.
KCB Bank Kenya Limited is a financial services provider headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. It is licensed as a commercial bank, by the Central Bank of Kenya, the national banking regulator. The bank has also been running Agency banking model.
The Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) is the principal stock exchange of Uganda. It was founded in June 1997. The USE is operated under the jurisdiction of Uganda's Capital Markets Authority, which in turn reports to the Bank of Uganda, Uganda's central bank.
Safaricom PLC is a listed Kenyan mobile network operator headquartered at Safaricom House in Nairobi, Kenya. It is the largest telecommunications provider in Kenya, and one of the most profitable companies in the East and Central Africa region. The company offers mobile telephony, mobile money transfer, consumer electronics, ecommerce, cloud computing, data, music streaming, and fibre optic services. It is most renowned as the home of M-PESA, a mobile banking SMS-based service.
The following telephone numbers in Kenya are destination codes for international calls terminating in Kenya as well as the procedures for dialling internationally from within Kenya. Until 1999, Kenya shared its telephone numbering plan with Tanzania and Uganda, meaning that to make calls between the three countries, subscribers needed only dial the area code and number, a legacy of the East African Post and Telecommunications Corporation (EAPTC) which was dissolved in 1977. As a result of the reorganisation of Tanzania's numbering plan in that year, direct dialling was discontinued, although calls between the three countries do not require international dialling, only a special three-digit code.
KCB Group Limited, also known as the KCB Group, is a financial services holding company based in the African Great Lakes region. The Group's headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya, with its subsidiaries being KCB Bank Kenya Limited, KCB Bank Burundi Limited, KCB Bank Rwanda Limited, KCB Bank South Sudan Limited, KCB Bank Tanzania Limited, KCB TMB Congo and KCB Bank Uganda Limited.
I&M Holdings Limited, also I&M Bank Group, is a conglomerate comprising banks, an insurance company and investment advisory businesses. The group's headquarters are located in Nairobi, Kenya, with subsidiaries in Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. The flagship company of the group is I&M Bank Limited, with headquarters in the I&M Bank Tower on Kenyatta Avenue in the central business district of Nairobi, Kenya's capital and largest city.
NCBA Bank Kenya, whose full name is NCBA Bank Kenya Plc, is a commercial bank in Kenya. It is licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya, the country's central bank and national banking regulator.
Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) was a financial services provider headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, the largest economy in the East African Community. CBA was licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya, the central bank and national banking regulator.
Commercial Bank of Africa Group is a financial services provider in East Africa. Its headquarters are located in Nairobi, Kenya, with subsidiaries in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Ivory Coast.
Equity Bank Kenya Limited is a financial services provider headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. It is licensed as a commercial bank by the Central Bank of Kenya, which is the central bank and national banking regulator of Kenya. In 2010 the bank introduced the Agency banking model, which has proved a success and is regulated by Central Bank of Kenya Prudential guidelines.
Equity Bank South Sudan Limited (EBSSL) is a commercial bank in South Sudan. The bank provides banking services to individuals and to small and medium business enterprises. It is one of the commercial banks licensed to operate in the country by the Bank of South Sudan, the central bank and national banking regulator.
Equity Bank Rwanda Limited (EBRL), is a commercial bank in Rwanda. The bank is licensed by the National Bank of Rwanda, the central bank and national banking regulator.
NCBA Group Plc, is a financial services conglomerate in East and West Africa. The Group's headquarters are located in Nairobi, Kenya, with subsidiaries in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Ivory Coast.
Equity Bank Tanzania Limited, is a commercial bank in Tanzania, the second-largest economy in the East African Community. It is licensed by the Bank of Tanzania, the country's central bank and national banking regulator. The bank is a member of the Equity Group Holdings Limited, a large financial services conglomerate, headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, with subsidiaries in Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo and a representative office in Ethiopia.
Airtel Africa plc, commonly known as (d/b/a) Airtel, is an Indian multinational company that provides telecommunications and mobile money services in 14 countries in Africa, primarily in East, Central and West Africa. Airtel Africa is majority owned by the Indian telecommunications company Bharti Airtel. Airtel Africa offers mobile voice and data services as well as mobile money services both nationally and internationally. Airtel Nigeria is the most profitable unit of Airtel Africa, due to its cheap data plans in Nigeria. As of March 2019, Airtel had over 99 million subscribers in the continent. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
Britam Holding PLC is a leading diversified financial services group and is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The group has presence in seven Africa countries in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Mozambique and Malawi.
Equity Group Holdings Limited (EGHL), formerly Equity Bank Group, is a financial services holding company based in the African Great Lakes region. EGHL's headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya, with subsidiaries in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo and a representative office in Ethiopia.
Equity Group Foundation (EGF) is an East African foundation based in Nairobi, Kenya. It was founded in 2008 to bolster Corporate social responsibility (CSR) for the Equity Group.
Bank of Africa Kenya Limited, is a commercial bank in Kenya. It is one of the commercial banks licensed by Central Bank of Kenya, the country's central bank and the national banking regulator.
Airtel Uganda Limited is a mobile communications and information technology services provider in Uganda. The company also offers mobile funds transfer and banking services known as Airtel Payments Bank. Airtel Uganda Limited is a subsidiary of Airtel Africa PLC.