NationHela card a game changer in money transfer
Friday, 17 Aug 2012
Analysts on Thursday welcomed the launch of NationHela, a new international money transfer card by Nation Media Group, highlighting its advantages over existing cards.
Standard Investment Bank said in research note to investors that though NationHela had the functionality of what other traditional pre-paid cards have, it offered more convenience to consumers.
The service was launched on Wednesday by the Nation Media Group (NMG) in partnership with Diamond Trust Bank (DTB), which will do the back office functions.
"It (NationHela) appears to go further in terms of convenience, especially with regards to top-ups from credit cards, debit cards and Paypal," the note reviewing the service said in part.
This comes as the service continued to receive traction from Kenyans both at home and in the diaspora a day after it went live.
"People are very excited about this product, and it has created a lot of traction online. We already have received calls from the United States from Kenyans who also want to help us market it as a game changer as far as international money transfer service is concerned," Ms Ann Gitao-Kinyua, NMG’s marketing director said.
Ms Gitao-Kinyua said the pre-paid card is already available at Nakumatt and Uchumi supermarkets, as well as and in all the 40 DTB branches countrywide.
NationHela is positioning itself as a vehicle to deliver the Sh75 billion diaspora remittances from Kenyans abroad.
Click of a mouse
"We did a lot of research in the diaspora and realised that it is very inconvenient to send money home. With NationHela, our readers can send money at the click of a mouse as they continue reading our news," the NMG’s group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Linus Gitahi, said on Wednesday during the launch.
The service, approved by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), has undergone a seven-month pilot phase and is linked on mobile networks.
NMG plans to leverage on its existing newspaper distribution points across the country, the over 8,000 visa merchants and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in Kenya as well as DTB’s branch network to take service to the mass market.
The pre-paid cards will also be sold at retail chains including Uchumi and Nakumatt supermarkets alongside the DTB branches and agents countrywide.
The platform, which handles foreign currency transfers, also allows transfers to and from M-Pesa accounts.
The card, retailing at Sh500, has also gone further than the existing pre-paid cards, as it allows users to top-up from credit cards, debit cards and Paypal in what is likely to open up the e-commerce market.
It plans to ride on the trust it enjoys from the millions of visitors to its news website to eliminate the fears that have dogged online transactions.
"The money deposited in the NationHela account will be held by DTB and consumers should rest assured that their money is safe," Mr Gitahi said.
Consumers can also go online at NationHela.com to do transactions. Once one sends the money, the recipient gets a text message alert on their mobile phone.
It comes at a time when diaspora remittances have been on the rise in recent years having grown by over 40 per cent in 2011 to hit Sh75 billion from Sh53 billion sent in 2010. It is also 30 per cent cheaper than existing platforms making it competitive on price.
DTB group chief executive officer Nasim Devji said her bank would provide customer service and the technical aspect of the product. Users will also not need to have an account with DTB or any other bank.
DTB, which has a presence in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi, also plans to enter five new countries in the next eight years, a move that will put its footprint in nine African countries and diversify its revenue base.
NMG maintained that it was not going into banking, but developing products that will leverage its existing platforms to facilitate commerce.
"We have always been a facilitator of commerce through advertising, where we link businesses with customers," Mr Gitahi said.
The group plans to launch the product in the rest of the East African markets in coming months.
