e-Tranzact receives CBN award for economic
development
By Sulaimon Olanrewaju
Mr. Valentine Obi, MD, e Tranzact (left)
receiving
the Central Bank of Nigeria award
for the Best
Entrepreneur Most Innovative
Product won by
the company from Mr. Tunde
Lemo,
Deputy Governor, CBN, in Abuja
recently.
IN a move to appreciate innovation and reward ingenuity in the way businesses are conducted in the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently rolled out the drums in honour of organisations in the financial sector that have contributed immensely to the sector’s growth and development. Top on the list was eTranzact, which won the CBN award for the Best Entrepreneur Most Innovative Product (Services). eTranzact is Nigeria’s first online realtime payment system that allows individuals and corporate account holders to pay for goods and services without stress. eTranzact also enables a transfer of funds to any bank account or cell phone across the country. eTranzact cardholders can pay their bills and order any product online using their eTranzact cards. Employers can pay their employees’ salary using the eTranzact platform. The services are genuinely creative and flexible for people to use. The ceremony held at the Ladi Kwali Conference Centre of the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja.
Explaining the rationale behind the award, the CBN described eTranzact as a unique service organization whose innovation is helping to drive the scheme of making Nigeria a cashless society. The award, it said, is a testimony to eTranzact’s groundbreaking approach to resolving Nigeria’s banking and commercial challenges technologically. eTranzact is pioneering the Mobile Commerce (mCommerce) and the Mobile Banking culture in Nigeria and beyond. eTranzact solutions which won it the CBN attention and honour include eTranzact PayOutlet, mCommerce, eCommerce Services, eTranzact WebAccess, Business-to-Business (B2B) Services, Telco Services, and ATM Access.
The eTranzact mobile commerce platform puts convenience in the hands of users.
Imagine a situation, for instance, where one is located in Abuja but needs to make an urgent transaction in Lagos. Despite the issues of location and others, such a transaction could be done via a few clicks on the mobile phone or indeed on the Internet. As a multi-channel payment platform, eTranzact enables people make payment for goods and services via different channels. It is possible for instance, to pay for an airline ticket on Aero or Virgin Nigeria from the comfort of your desk in the office, without needing to rush to the frontline of the airline. All you need do, thereafter, is to check in your luggage and board the aircraft. For parents and guardians who need to settle their children and wards’ school fees, it might be cumbersome going through the rowdy banking hall and the protocols. But with the eTranzact, you just press some buttons on your mobile phone and the transaction is completed. Also, people do not have to worry about opening a bank account to have their urgent financial requests met, especially family members who need immediate assistance from their loved ones. eTranzact enables users to satisfy their relatives without going through the usual stress associated with banking activities since it is easier to transfer fund from their account to the relative’s phone using the eTranzact platform. Such is the convenience that users of eTranzact cards are wont to enjoying.
A very big one is the possibility of Nigerian and Ghanaian eTranzact cardholders to withdraw cash from any ATM in Nigeria and Ghana and have their accounts debited accordingly. This service is designed for all categories of people who travel between Nigeria and Ghana. Stakeholders agree that eTranzact’s partnership with Intercontinental Bank to bring this idea to fruition is a great feat. The product is labelled iCash.
There is no more need for people to have cash strapped to their bodies whenever they embark on business trips. They no longer have to worry about exchange rates because being on the eTranzact platform already solved that problem; one can withdraw in the currency of either country directly from the ATM. What this means is that a Nigerian who has to do business in Ghana where he has no bank account can actually withdraw Ghanaian cedis with his eTranzact card and vice-versa. There is a merchant who normally travels from Ivory Coast with sacks of millions of CFA to do business in Nigeria.
To such a merchant, it is a big risk having to move cash about. It will be good to let such people know about the eTranzact innovation because it is safe, easy and fast.
The CBN appreciates the novel way eTranzact creates a system that enables its cardholders use different channels for their transactions. It observes that conducting businesses via the fast-paced world of information communication technology (ICT) using such channels as the web (using any internet browser in a secured transaction); mobile phones (GSM, CDMA or Analog); eTranzact-enabled point of sale (POS); Automated Teller Machines (ATM); Bank branches and so on will go a long way in reducing the risks usually associated with physical movement of cash from one point to another for commercial purposes.
eTranzact currently partners up to 20 banks, and has presence in about 38 Nigerian universities, where students make use of eTranzact card to pay their school fees. But in addition to that, students can use the same card to conveniently move money from one account to another account in the same bank or different banks. And this is a possibility that many parents and guardians would like to cheer about. It removes the pains of going through agonizing traffic and nauseating banking procedures in Nigeria. eTranzact provides a big relief to both parents/guardians and wards, as transferred money can be withdrawn immediately on ATMs using the eTranzact platform. Three banks currently partner eTranzact to make this possible. They are: Union Bank, Skye Bank and Intercontinental Bank. eTranzact cardholders can withdraw money from the above banks’ ATMs. eTranzact is making arrangements with other participating banks to ensure the possibility of cash withdrawal from their ATMs using the eTranzact cards.
Interestingly, the eTranzact innovation makes it possible for everyone to benefit from its services even if they do not have a bank account. eTranzact makes it possible for people to receive cash through their mobile phones. This means that every Nigerian can benefit from the eTranzact services as long as they own a mobile phone. It is also possible to recharge your mobile phone using one of the eTranzact Mobile Commerce services dubbed “Top up” without leaving your desk. This service covers all the major GSM operators and a few of the private telephone operators (PTOs), including Starcomms.
Another innovation from eTranzact is called eTranzact Merchant Services. The eTranzact Merchant Services enables merchants to receive payment from their customers via eTranzact. The merchants are notified of payments made into their accounts via their mobile phones; they can also confirm payments on the internet. To benefit from this service, a merchant need only to open a merchant account with any of the eTranzact participating banks, and own a mobile phone or have an internet connection.
The possibilities are not limited to business. A cardholder who attends either the Winners’ Chapel, the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Daystar, among others, can pay his tithe and offering through a service called “Online Giving”. It does not cost a fortune to register onto the platform, and the eTranzact cards are reloadable depending on the needs of the holder. One can get a card by registering for it at the eTranzact website once you are an account holder in any of eTranzact participating banks.
Responding to the honour done it by the Central Bank of Nigeria, executives of eTranzact attribute their success to dedication to service to humanity as well as their unwavering faith in the belief that Nigeria can be the best place for all to live and do business in without fear and hassles. They promise to do much more in the days ahead.
They want Nigerians to be expectant of more wonderful innovations from eTranzact, as the company targets the 42 million active mobile phone subscribers. Nigerians definitely have a lot more to look forward to from this innovative brand called eTranzact in the years ahead.
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