Abu Dhabi, 27 February 2018:

Emirates Data Clearing House (EDCH), a subsidiary of Etisalat Services Holding, announced the launch of a new suite of mobile financial services for Expresso Telecom based in Senegal, Africa.

E-Money by Expresso launched commercially nationwide in Senegal for all mobile customers in the new and existing segments of Expresso Senegal. This is EDCH’s first commercial deployment of Mobile Financial Services on an international level for a mobile network operator. It will be followed by two more deployments within the Expresso Telecom Group’s regional operations in Africa.

Nasser Salim, General Manager, EDCH, said:

“The announcement emphasizes our long-standing commitment to ensure that all customers ultimately receive the best value possible, no matter where they are in the world, with offers available across the globe. Expresso Telecom Group customers and regulatory bodies can be assured that our systems have been developed to address all security and identity issues.”

The rollout of mobile financial services is aimed at improving financial inclusion levels, providing a complete system for the unbanked, and also delivering non-traditional transformational services to the banked population and businesses requiring more flexible services.

Expresso Senegal provides customers with a variety of services including Cash-in/Cash-out, On-Net and Off-Net Money Transfer within Senegal, and multiple types of payments including merchant payments and top up services. These services are provided via EDCH’s MFS hub, using Mobile Wallet in phase one. EDCH and Expresso are working jointly to provide additional services such as International Money Remittance and additional features in phase two.

EDCH’s Mobile Financial Services are products and services provided by mobile network operators (MNOs) to customers through mobile devices. The mobile channel provides MNOs with an opportunity to increase customers’ access to financial services for both the banked and unbanked segments. EDCH is the technology partner which provides the platform and Go-To-Market support to the Expresso Telecom Group for the launch of mobile financial services.

The Expresso Telecom Group and EDCH first joined forces in 2016 with EDCH being the partner of choice for data and financial clearing services. Their strategic partnership now encompasses both Mobile Financial Services and Wi-Fi Roaming Services. EDCH’s Mobile Financial Services Hub is being introduced as a new service line with a broad portfolio for its valuable clients. The hub is an integration point for the client, through which different financial and related services are offered. It is a key differentiator to globally support customer acquisition and retention, and to increase revenues