Many people across Africa rely on mobile internet for everyday activities, and with this comes a growing interest in global shopping. Increasingly, people are ordering from sites like Amazon, Aliexpress, Alibaba, and eBay, as well as subscribing to digital services such as Spotify, Google Play, and Netflix.
Unfortunately, high levels of fraud remain a challenge on the continent, impacting ordinary users. Common scams involve issues with bank accounts, credit or virtual cards, and digital wallets. For anyone making frequent online purchases, protecting their funds from fraudsters is essential.
In this article, we’ll explain how you can do so with the versatile Ultima virtual card for shopping from PSTNET. Issued by banks in the US and the EU, this card features advanced...
If you are looking for the best web hosting in Nigeria, you have two options. You can either choose a reliable Nigeria-based web hosting company or a global hosting provider. As a business or an entrepreneur in Nigeria, you want affordable web hosting without compromising on performance.
A Nigeria-based web host is one with an office in Nigeria, offering you the additional convenience of paying in Naira. For global hosting companies, you will be required to make payments in a foreign currency, usually the US dollar.
If you are currently wondering which web hosting companies to choose for your business in Nigeria, I have been using hosting services since 2009 and will be helping you make that choice here.
I will be...
Going online is a decision that every business will have to take someday. Online presence is a good sign of a serious business. However, some businesses equate being online to just having a website.
A website is a good step and should be the headquarters of your online presence, but is hardly enough.
Connecting your business online gives you access to lots of online tools that will enable you promote and market your product and services and put your business in front of hundreds of potential customers who may never have known about your brand.
In this going online series we will...
Google as part of its strategy to unify its services have rebranded the Android Market as Google Play and has integrated all its other stores like the Google Music Store and the Google EBooks Store into the new Google Play store giving customers a one stop shop for apps, games, music, ebooks, and movies.
Where to Buy Smartphones
Jumia.com.ng from ₦77,999.00 Buy Now
A Unified Content Store with Google Branding
Google's major move here is to add its name to the store, bringing its brand name closer to consumers. This may also imply Google is looking beyond Android as the store will also...
If you own a shop, store, shopping mall or offer goods and services for sell in Nigeria, you should be preparing your business by now for the takeoff of the cashless policy of the CBN. How ready is your business for accepting e-payment from customers who prefer to shop cashless with electronic payment solutions? Have you started deploying e-payment solutions in your business, shops, and stores?
In this article, we show e-payment solutions that merchants must seriously consider for their business to run smoothly in a cashless Nigeria. Note that cashless Nigeria does not mean that people will stop shopping...
Mobile Money is a payment solution that enables you pay for goods and services with their mobile phones. It is one of the e-payment solutions available to Nigerians in a cashless Nigeria. It is at the core of the CBN’s cashless or cashlite Nigeria policy. In this article we will look at mobile money in Nigeria.
A number of providers have already been licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to offer mobile money in Nigeria. Some are already rolling out services while others are planning to do so.
List of Mobile Money Services in Nigeria
OPay
MTN MoMo
Paga
...
While browsing through QuickTeller, I discovered a mobile money service I have never heard about before. The name is QikQik mobile money. With a little search about the mobile money service, I discovered that it is promoted by Eartholeum an electronic solutions provider. I also learnt that many months ago (June, 2011) National Directorate for Employment (NDE) launched NDE-QikQik Business Ownership Scheme aimed at creating jobs.
However, outside these there appears to be very little information about the QikQik mobile money service. Apart from a channel for funding QikQik at QuickTeller, there is no other sign of the existence of...
PocketMoni is the Mobile Money service offering of eTranzact. Formally called M-Teller, PocketMoni Mobile Money is a service that enables you create an e-wallet on your mobile phone for making payments, fund transfer, as well as for receiving money. PocketMoni is one of the Mobile Money services in Nigeria like MTN Mobile Money, that will help you survive in a cash-lite or cashless Nigeria.
The attraction in PocketMoni Mobile Money service for us is that it is accessible from most Networks and is supported by many banks. So, it is available to everyone irrespective of network or bank. The downside...
Before boarding a flight, you have to check-in, after which you are given a boarding pass to enable you board the flight. Traditionally, check-in was done at the airport at the check-in counter of the airline. But with the advancement in technology, most notably ICT, airlines now have online check-in feature as part of their online airline booking platforms. Online check-in makes things easy for travelers and saves cost for airlines.
Want to Book Cheap Flights Online? Click Here
All the six Nigerian airlines we currently track; namely Air Peace, Aero airlines, Dana air, FirstNation airways, Arik air, and Air Nigeria...
Mobile Banking is a value added service offered by a bank to enable customers conveniently and securely conduct their banking transactions on their mobile phone. A mobile banking platform will enable you transfer funds and check your account balance and statement without having to visit your bank. You can also buy airtime and pay utility bills with your banking platform.
How does Mobile Banking work?
Depending on your bank, mobile banking services are offered mostly via a Java based application, SMS, and more recently mobile apps on the Windows, Android, and/or iOS platforms. Some banks will offer all options but others...
You must have heard about the cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN by now. Well, if you have not, it is a policy aimed at reducing the volume of physical cash circulating in the Nigerian economy and encouraging e-payment options. Core to the cashless (more like cash-lite) policy is the introduction of daily bank deposit/withdrawal limits above which account holders pay huge transaction costs.
Most articles on the cashless policy so far have focused on either announcing the policy or highlighting the challenges facing it.
Very few have actually focused on what payment and transaction options are available...
MTN Mobile Money (a.k.a MTN MoMo) is a service that enables users to send and receive money as well as make payments for products and services with their mobile phones. With MoMo, you can transfer money to any MTN user within any of the supported African countries. Note that cross-border transfers are not supported for now.
For now, you can only transfer to users within your own country. Mobile Money is offered by MTN in partnership with banks. It is one of a number of mobile money services that are available in Nigeria and across Africa.
MTN Mobile Money enables you...
Google Music is a new service from the world's leading search engine that enables users store up to 20,000 songs in the cloud, sync them across multiple devices, share and enjoy them from anywhere. According to Google's press release launching the new music service "Google Music is about discovering, purchasing, sharing and enjoying digital music in new, innovative and personalized ways". Google Music is currently only available in the United States.
Store up to 20,000 Songs
Google Music enables users store up to 20,000 songs for free in the cloud. Users can upload their own songs from their existing collection or...
U-Mo, the mobile money service from Afripay a member of the UBA group currently supports three account types. The three U-Mo e-wallet types vary in terms of their target market, per transaction limit, daily transaction limits and the documentation required for registration. The three U-Mo mobile money account types are U-Mo Silver, U-Mo Gold, and U-Mo Platinum.
U-Mo Silver Mobile Money e-wallet
This is the mobile money service for the masses. U-Mo Silver is the easiest to get as it requires no identification and no documents. All you need is fill a very short form (name, address, sex, occupation, and phone...
U-Mo is a mobile money service from UBA. The UBA U-Mo Mobile Money service is accredited by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and powered by Afripay, a subsidiary of the UBA Group. UBA U-Mo is a mobile money service, similar to the yet to be launched M-Teller mobile money service from eTransact, which enables users make and receive payments as well as conduct other financial transactions with their mobile phone.
UBA U-Mo enables you create an e-wallet on your mobile phone for handling your transactions like MTN Mobile Money. So, it turns your phone into a wallet. With the...
TrueBranches, an online export/import service company, has introduced a free BlackBerry mobile app to bring its services closer to its customers. With this new mobile app Nigerians will be able to buy items in US stores using their BlackBerry mobile phones and have them delivered to them in Nigeria. The BlackBerry app also enables merchants in Nigeria to sell their products to the US market.
The TrueBranches mobile app is an extension of the website located at www.truebranches.com. It is aimed at bringing its services closer to its customers and empowering them to access its services from anywhere without restriction.
TrueBranches...
Google Offers was a service by Google that helps you find attractive deals on products and services at local or online businesses, while you search the web. Google Offers will also be delivered to subscribers via email. The service is on beta in Portland, Oregon, United States and will soon be available in a few selected cities in the United States.
Google Offers will display offers and deals on products and services relevant to your search term and location while you search the web or have them delivered to your email. Google Offers will be displayed on Google's search products...
Google Wallet is a new mobile app by Google that promises to turn your mobile phone to your wallet. With Google Wallet, you can shop and pay for goods and services at physical locations using an NFC (Near Field Communications) enabled mobile phone. Google Wallet replaces your current plastic payment cards, by enabling you store virtual copies of your credit cards and gift cards on your mobile phone, saving you from carrying a multiplicity of physical cards. Google Wallet will also store offers, coupons, and loyalty cards enabling users to save while shopping. Google Wallet is currently available on...
AlertPay opens the door to a lot of opportunities on the internet. You can accept AlertPay as a means of payment for your goods and services. You can also receive money from friends and family via AlertPay once you have an email address, whether or not you have an AlertPay account. After receiving funds via AlertPay the next logical question is how do you withdraw your funds? AlertPay offers a number of ways of withdrawing funds from your e-wallet. You can withdraw from your AlertPay account directly or use the services of independent e-currency exchangers. Here we will discuss...
After opening an AlertPay account, the next step is probably funding it. Sometimes you may be invited to open an AlertPay account if someone sends money to your email via AlertPay even when you do not have an account already. In such a situation your next step after opening an account will be to withdraw the fund from your e-wallet. AlertPay offers a number of ways for funding or withdrawing funds from your e-wallet. You can fund or withdraw from your AlertPay account directly or use the services of independent e-currency exchangers. Here we will discuss ways of funding...
AlertPay is an electronic payment service that enables account holders to send and receive payments over the internet. AlertPay offers a great payment solution for merchants. Your customers can easily pay for goods and services at your online store, website, even email with credit/debit card or with their AlertPay e-wallet. In addition, AlertPay has members in over 190 countries giving you access to a global market.
Selling online via AlertPay is as simple as opening an AlertPay Personal Pro or AlertPay business accounts. Once you open any of these two AlertPay account, you can start selling with AlertPay immediately. Here...
AlertPay is an electronic payment service that enables account holders to easily make and receive payments on the internet. AlertPay is a direct competitor to PayPal. AlertPay and PayPal offer very similar services. The only difference between the two is that while PayPal have refused to accept accounts from Nigeria, AlertPay accepts Nigerian accounts. PayPal also seems to be more popular and has been in the business much longer. However, AlertPay is gradually gaining in popularly and currently boasts of over five million account holders. So if you are looking for an easy and secure way of making and...
You need the best marketing automation software to scale your business fast and convert more leads to customers.
Marketing automation software are software tools that...
Zmobile is a mobile banking service from Zenith bank. Zmobile (meaning Zenith mobile) enables customers of Zenith bank to carry out various banking and...
AliExpress.com is an online shopping mall owned by China's top online marketplace, Alibaba.com. On AliExpress, you will find thousands of top Chinese exporters and...
