ITREALMS / BELLANAIJA
Accelerex recently unveiled its Nexgo G2 integrated smart POS terminals which are considered the best in class for merchants to offer a new payment experience because of how it combines portability with efficiency, durability and high operational speed. Presenting the product at the PoS Innovative Summit organized by the company in October, Ogungbade, said the Nexgo was engineered for mobility. He said it is packed with excellent features that cater to the needs of a broader range of merchants and segments. “At a cost structure lower than an mPos, it is almost amazing why any merchant would want to fiddle with two devices other than one,” he said. Kayode Ariyo, Chief Operating Officer of the company, disclosed that the G2 comes with NFC capabilities and is fully certified for PCI 4x, EMV, PBOC, MasterCard PayPass and Visa PayWave. “The G2 offers a rich high resolution 2.4 Inch colour display and can conveniently fit into a merchant’s pocket, making it an excellent choice for various payment scenarios such as internal revenue collections, retail payments, bill/utility payments, distributor/ field sales as well as agent banking”, he said. The device is versatile and allows a wide variety of customized applications for different sectors. For churches, it can be customized with easy menu for collection of tithes, offerings, building funds, among others. For fuel stations, it has the capability for fuel pump integration for both manned and unmanned fuel pumps, stock monitoring and inventory management. For schools, menus can be incorporated for easy payment for uniforms, books, fees and other academic expenses. The device is also enabled for account opening, loyalty schemes for select account holders and closed loop schemes for high value merchants. Great entrepreneurs have to pick where they think they will have the most impact for their skillset. So they try to understand the climate, to read the shifts, to know what is going on. Global Accelerex is taking these giants strides because it is led by an innovative and forward thinking team of professionals who envision the creation of an unparalleled enterprise that would be a strategic financial technology partner to players in various sectors of the economy. Ogungbade himself is a study in professional ability: ingenious, perceptive and aware. He built Global Accelerex to be solution oriented and he is combining his diverse competencies as a business executive, management consultant, entrepreneur, and technology leader to guide the corporate mission. A computer engineering graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, he has a Master’s in Real Time Systems from London Southbank University, a certified project management professional and a professional member of the Global Project Management Institute (Lagos Nigeria Chapter). He is also a certified SAP technical consultant with an Executive MBA Degree from Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland. His over two decades of international business management experience and information technology expertise covers strategic planning, investment, enterprise system integration, custom software development, technology operations and commercialization; and infrastructure management. Global Accelerex has constantly striven to give customers the best possible point of sale experience, 2017 saw the company expand significantly, opening regional offices in key commercial hubs around the country, including major cities such as Owerri, Port Harcourt and Ibadan, and reaching new heights in substantial transaction volumes. In 2018, the company is poised for further growth with plans to spread its services into diverse areas of the Nigerian financial technology space and exciting new service offerings for Nigeria and beyond.
LIDYA
Financing for small businesses LIDYA USES MOBILE-FIRST TECHNOLOGY AND PROPRIETARY CREDIT SCORING algorithms to help African businesses and individuals open an account online in 15 minutes, manage funds, access credit needed to grow their businesses and plan their futures. 20,000 businesses have registered for the service. Once a customer has been evaluated by the platform, qualified ones receive a loan in as little as 48 hours based. Lidya has financed businesses spanning agriculture, consumer goods, services, and creative industries, among others, and is targeting N1.5 billion in loan originations to SMEs in Nigeria. "Our vision is to digitize and streamline the credit assessment process to make it easy for any SME across Africa to access the funding they needed to grow their business," said Tunde Kehinde, the co-founder of Lidya. Early in the year the company closed a US$1.25 million seed funding led by Accion Venture Lab, the seed-stage investment initiative of financial inclusion leader Accion, which invests capital, and provides support to innovative fintech startups that increase access to, improve the quality of, or reduce the cost of financial services for the underserved at scale. Newid Capital and several angel investors also contributed to the round. “This round of funding and backing from our world-class group of investors is a strong validation of the potential of fintech in Africa and will position the company to be the go-to source of financing for entrepreneurs looking to grow their business,” said Ercin Eksin, co-founder of Lidya.
NOWNOW
PAYUP
PIGGYBANK
Agnostic online platform
Accept payments on the go
The service that makes you save
NOWNOW IS A MOBILE payments platform that lets you pay bills quickly, top up your data or airtime instantly, send and receive money with rewards. The amount paid by consumers is returned in the form of cash back and coupons, thus making the recharge almost free. The company is PCI DSS compliant and offers an agent platform that enables additional streams of revenue for individuals and businesses along with providing financial services to the unbanked – a service that allow them to offer P2P, bank transfers, cash out, mobile recharge, pay bills etc.
PAYUP IS A MOBILE payment and MPOS startup focused on delivering a low cost, more scalable alternative to the traditional banking and payment options to Nigeria. It offers a free point-of-sale app that works with a mobile card reader connected to a phone or tablet that transforms it into a card acceptance terminal. PayUp Register is the POS app that helps you process card payments quickly and on the go. It takes care of digital receipts, inventory and sales management. It serves businesses both big and small, from the corner supermarket to nationwide retail chains.
PIGGYBANK.NG IS A PLATform that works with financial institutions to enable users to save little amounts of money periodically (daily, weekly or monthly) without too much fuss. UBA warehouses the savings although customers do not need to have accounts with the bank. The deposits are insured by NDIC, according to the company. Piggybank. ng simply provides the saving technology. The system allows users to withdraw their funds for free on set withdrawal dates, thereby making saving more possible for users by eliminating the temptation to use the money.
E-PAYMENT REVIEW December 2017
33