By
Telecom Lead: Ericsson and MTN Group
have entered into a strategic partnership to launch m-wallet services in Africa
and the Middle East.
With
this partnership, MTN will become the first operator to deploy Ericsson
Converged Wallet platform.
Ericsson Converged Wallet platform is a new complementary
service to the integrated pre-paid charging system and mobile financial
services solution for MTN consumers in those regions.
The partnership between Ericsson and MTN supports the
operators’ strategy to secure a flexible, reliable and efficient solution in
the area of mobile financial services.
“Optimizing the Mobile Money consumer experience
directly impacts consumer stickiness, and with Ericsson Converged Wallet we can
now address our strategic priorities by enabling rapid response to our
consumer’s preferences and expectations,” said Christian de Faria, chief
commercial officer, MTN Group.
The new solution allows MTN to quickly introduce
relevant, new and differentiated m-wallet market offerings to its Mobile Money
customers to create an optimized user experience.
MTN has more than 5 million Mobile Money subscribers in
12 countries.
“2012 will be the year of partnerships across the
emerging m-commerce eco-system. MTN has long been an early adopter in mobile
money, and this new partnership builds on our ongoing relationship of
collaboration,” said Hans Vestberg, president and CEO of Ericsson.
Ericsson Converged Wallet solution delivers operational
efficiencies by providing a single configuration tool and rating engine for all
packages, prices, promotions, policies and notifications.
MTN will initially deploy the Ericsson Converged Wallet
as a pilot in selected MTN operations during 2012, with a view to roll out the
solution across all its operations in Africa and the Middle East.
Recently, MTN
extended its managed services agreement with Ericsson for its Ghana operations.
MTN has 49 percent market share in Ghana. In 2011, MTN grew by around 18
percent in the country to serve over 10 million subscribers.
