Empowering Mobile
Even in the age of smartphones, low-tech solutions such as USSD and SMS remain critical banking channels for many.
According to the GSMA (‘Mobile Economy 2020, Sub Sahara Africa’) by the end of 2018, smartphones accounted for 39% of total connections in the region and is expected to increase to 66% by 2025. This means that feature phones are still widely used. Lack of data coverage, which may also be costly to access where it is available, means feature phones will remain relevant for a significant portion of the population for some time. Reaching this significant market requires easily accessible and cost-effective technologies. Low-tech message based technologies such as SMS and USSD remain extremely relevant and critical for banks to utilise as mobile banking channels.
USSD enables banks to reach new customers, reduce costs, offer convenience and increase revenue.
Traditional banking channels are difficult to serve the underbanked communities where there is limited access to branch, internet and app-based services. According to the Global Findex Report, close to one-third of adults – 1.7 billion – are still unbanked. The deployment of a USSD based mobile banking solution targets this sector in a low-cost and highly effective way. With all mobile phones supporting USSD, it requires no client software and offers blanket coverage of the population. USSD is a tool that enables banks to:
The BankWorld platform enables banks to create new services, for example:
BankWorld USSD is underpinned by a powerful Digital Banking Platform – BankWorld – that enables banks to offer banking services across the most critical and relevant banking channels today.