Paymentology, a card issuing and processing platform, has announced a partnership with Salaam Bank’s Waafi in Somalia.
The companies have collaborated on the launch of a co-branded, tokenised, tap-to-pay digital companion card along with a physical card for Waafi mobile app users. The digital card is said to be a first for the Horn of Africa.
Waafi is a mobile money app developed from a collaboration between Salaam Bank, a leading financial institution in East Africa, Somali operator Hormuud Telecom, Somali ICT services provider Telesom, and Somali regional telecoms service provider Golis.
The Waafi mobile money app offers communications, entertainment and payment functionalities, intending to promote a digital lifestyle and a cashless society. Waafi has, it seems, now turned into a full-fledged digital bank with the extension of its card offering, which now leverages Paymentology’s issuing processing platform.
The co-brand partnership with the Waafi mobile app offers users the opportunity to digitally open an account, create a digital Mastercard card, link the card to a wallet or account, tokenise the card on a digital device, and make contactless payments with ease.
More than two-thirds of all payments in Somalia are made via mobile money platforms, and as Kirsten Wortmann, Regional Director for Africa, Paymentology, says: “Mobile and digital wallets play a crucial role in the financial ecosystem in Somalia. We are excited to bring the first digital card to the Horn of Africa, paving the way for a future where digital and contactless payments are the norm.”
