As it awaits licensing by regulators here, the Ghanaian-headquartered Fintech company – Ezeepay – has announced that it will be establishing a presence here and has already advertised for management positions.
The company seems intent on tapping into the Guyana market as the World Bank has estimated that remittances would reach US$393 million for last year, the equivalent of 5.3% of this country’s gross domestic product.
“They applied to the bank for a licence and that is still being processed,” was all Bank of Guyana Governor Gobind Ganga would say when contacted by the Stabroek News yesterday.
However, sources told this newspaper that the company has already lodged a US$20 million surety bond, which is required as a compliance guarantee against systemic risks, and that local regulators were still undergoing the due diligence process.
Stabroek News understands that the company will be offering services similar to the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) mobile money Guyana (MMG), such as payment of utility and other bills and banking transfers in real time.
The company informs that “Zeepay Ghana Limited is Africa’s fastest growing FINTECH with a focus on Mobile Financial Service across 20 jurisdictions in Africa. We specialize in creating last mile access for Money Transfer operations globally, directly into Africa in an effort to improve financial inclusion on the continent.”
It added, “At Zeepay, we make it possible for our international partners to settle remittance payments directly into mobile money wallets, bank accounts, debit cards and automated teller machines. We serve over 150 million clients across 20 countries and licences to operate in the United Kingdom by the FCA and 27 European countries.”
The company has announced vacancies for a Head of Operations, Service Delivery Manager, and Products Manager, among other management positions.
This newspaper reached out to the company through its online portal but up to press time there had been no response. It is unclear if the company already has an office here but for all of the positions advertised, applications must be sent to an email address provided.
In June of this year, Zeepay announced that it had received licensing in Barbados and would make that country its headquarters for the Caribbean, creating some 10,000 jobs while stimulating the fintech ecosystem.
The Barbados Today newspaper reported that in 2021, remittances to that country reached an estimated $432 million (about US$216 million).
It also quoted co-founder and chief executive officer of the eight-year-old Zeepay Andrew Takyi-Appiah, as being excited to introduce his company in Barbados and the rest of the region, as he named Guyana as one of the countries attracting interest.
“So we have come into a partnership with GIFT and the idea is to be able to bring in a lot of opportunity into the Barbadian market and subsequently the larger Caribbean. We are looking to create direct and indirect employment for about 10,000 people while looking to grow the fintech ecosystem . . .” the CEO was quoted as saying while noting that the model will allow for agents and a range of technology-related jobs.
“We believe with the expertise we will be able to change and diversify your market significantly and through that process build a playbook that will help us reach the entire Caribbean, starting with Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, and then of course, the wider Caribbean,” he added.
The mobile money founder had also pointed out that the company had been working for three years to make the Barbados opening a reality and will invest hundreds of thousands of dollars.
On Appiah’s Linkedin profile, he states, “I am a firm believer that the future rests with Mobile and Digital Inclusion. The bulk of my research work over the last 5 years has been focused on the future of mobile money and mobile payments on the African Continent. In my opinion, tomorrow happened yesterday for mobile payments in Africa, and I look forward to the day when we would achieve a full interoperability platform where all players converge on a single platform for Retail Payments & Collections.”
In Barbados, the Zeepay mobile walled is facilitated through a partnership with that country’s GIFT system.
Chief Executive Officer of GIFT, Dave Sahadath, according to Barbados Today, had said the partnership was an ideal one for his firm. Boasting that the mobile wallet will eliminate the need for standing in long lines to receive remittances, Sahadath explained, “Opposed to a person having to go and stand in a long line, that money will either be able to be sent directly to a bank account, a visa card or into a local wallet system. Once we are fully operationalised here, we will also be looking at launching several kiosks across the country… Our aim is that within the first two years, to provide employment to at least 100 Barbadians based on the model that we are choosing to adopt.”
He disclosed that the principals of Zeepay chose Barbados as their headquarters for the Caribbean because of the island’s political stability, the skilled workforce, ease of access to air travel to and from the island, and the stability of the Barbados dollar, among other reasons. “It is about digital remittances, it is about people being able to receive funds directly into their account and even be able to cater for those who are unbanked. We want to solve the challenge very quickly. I believe that once we are operational, within less than six months you will see very little need for anyone to go stand in long lines to wait for these remittance services.”
