Bank of Abyssinia has replaced its former mobile wallet application with Gizepay, which allows its customers and users to create a mobile wallet account without an account at Abyssinia. The new system replaces Enqupay, a platform that the Bank used for a year and a half.

The new platform is available in three forms: a mobile application on both Android and IOS; a web-based wallet; and as an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) programme, which does not require a smartphone or a computer to use. The IOS application is yet to be launched.

Abyssinia acquired the system from a foreign fintech company, Digital Cash, which is based in Amman, Jordan. The system was acquired through the Operating Expenses (OPEX) licensing scheme, wherein the Bank will pay a fee for every transaction. The transaction fee is to be paid quarterly.

"Compared to other banking systems, this is a good deal," said Sosena Mengesha, chief digital banking officer at Abyssinia, further explaining that the licensing scheme has a lower initial cost than core banking systems, which require enormous investment.

Digital Cash, in addition to deploying the wallet system for Abyssinia, has trained some of the Bank's staff so that they can perform simple customisations in-house. An attempt to reach out to managers at Digital Cash bore no fruit as the management did not respond to inquiries from Fortunebefore the paper went to print.

In a directive that became effective in April 2020, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) required payment issuers to ensure compliance with the customer due diligence requirements in maintaining and operating electronic accounts while permitting individuals to access mobile wallet services without having to open a regular bank account. The due diligence requirement, commonly termed the Know Your Customer (KYC) protocol, is fulfilled when customers present valid identification cards, photographs and mobile phone numbers.

To register on Gizepay, customers with no account have the option of signing up at the Bank's branches or with any of the available 107 GizePay agents. Since its soft launch in late November, the Bank has managed to acquire 22,787 mobile wallet customers.

Utility payment options, such as mobile top-up, air ticket purchases and DSTV subscription fees, are available on Gizepay, much like most mobile wallets.

Water bill payment options will also be incorporated soon, according to Sosena. The Bank, which has 3.8 million customers as of last December, is also working to integrate a system referred to as E-bill, an electronic management system that allows customers to make recurring payments through their mobile wallet.

"We plan to avail school fee payment options for 350 schools through GizePay," she said.