Airtel Africa, Standard Chartered Sign Deal After Banks, Telco Confrontation

Airtel Africa and Standard Chartered have both partnered to connect their customers through their various platforms. The partnership comes after the bank industry and the telecommunications sector went for each other's juggernaut over the charges of USSD code.

Airtel Africa and Standard Chartered intend to drive financial inclusion through their partnership. In a statement seen by AllNews, Airtel Africa said the deal will increase access to mobile financial services. The deal will lead to the creation of innovative platforms.

"Standard Chartered and Airtel Africa will work together to co-create new, innovative products aimed at enhancing the accessibility of financial services and, ultimately, better serve people across Africa.

"In line with this, Airtel Money’s customers will be able to make real-time online deposits and withdrawals from Standard Chartered bank accounts, receive international money transfers directly to their wallets, and access savings products amongst other services.

[READ ALSO: FCMB CEO Shockingly Claims N573 million "Mistakenly" Sent To Magu's Pastor]

"This partnership supports Airtel Africa’s efforts to expand the range and depth of its Airtel Money offerings across its 19 million customer base, with new products and services helping to promote the wider adoption of mobile money and increasing financial inclusion." The statement said.

The deal between Airtel Africa and Standard Chartered bank is not new between both sectors. MTN Nigeria and Diamond Bank - before the latter merged with Access Bank - both partnered as well to connect their customers through new packages.

While speaking on the deal, the Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Africa, Raghunath Mandava, said: “Our relationship with Standard Chartered boosts financial inclusion across the continent, giving millions of people access to valuable banking services. We continue to invest heavily in cashing in and cashing out locations for our customers and increase our distribution.

"This means that our customers can now send or receive digital payments via Standard Chartered Bank directly to their mobile phones, as well as cash-out their funds at our exclusive kiosks and branches at their convenience. This highlights Airtel Africa’s commitment to providing affordable, innovative, best-in-class solutions to enhance the daily lives of our customers.” Mandava said.

[READ ALSO: Stanbic IBTC Threatens Ascon Directors, As Dispute With Ascon Oil Intensifies]

Banks And Telco Confrontation

The Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) charge for bank services placed on customers resulted in an uproar from Nigerians who protested the decision. This led to counter-accusations between the banks and network providers, as they faulted each other over the decision to charge customers using USSD code for bank services.

The banks said it was the network providers who decided to charge customers, while the telcos said the banks pushed the charges on customers. In order to settle the issue, the government stopped the USSD charge, asking the banks and network providers to settle on a payment structure that won't involve the customers. However, Banks have been directed to pay telecommunications companies for the use of the USSD by bank customers.