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Electrum upgrades Capitec’s cellphone banking service

April 17, 2018

Electrum Payments

Electrum’s recent upgrade to Capitec’s USSD banking platform significantly improves their customers’ mobile banking experience.

Capitec is not only South Africa’s fastest-growing bank, they’re also one of the most customer-centric, offering convenient banking services to many first-time account-holders. As their Fintech partners, they recently called on us to implement a new USSD Channel Banking platform, along with the advanced Electrum Transaction Switch.

...allows even the most basic entry-level cellphone to perform convenient banking functions.

Using the platform, the bank’s new USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) service allows over 6 million customers to use even the most basic entry-level cellphone to perform convenient banking functions. These include transfers between accounts, paying credit facilities and buying airtime, cheaply and securely.

The service works through a simple menu on cellphone screens, similar to an SMS, and is both easy and fast. It’s a proven technology that’s safe to use, since the user’s cellphone is protected by their PIN code and Capitec makes use of advanced system monitoring tools.

Capitec was striving to improve the user experience for their customer base and also gain insight into key internal channel performance metrics, and we were able to provide the solution. “The new USSD platform will allow Capitec a deeper understanding of client behaviour,” says Electrum MD Dave Glass. “Our Advanced USSD features and toolset will help them improve services to their customers and allow them to add constant refinements to the channel.”

…extensive experience with USSD and transactional banking solutions…

The Electrum Switch provides important transaction processing, monitoring and management between the USSD Channel and the back office systems. Self-service is an important aspect of Capitec’s offering, improving accessibility for their growing client base. Allowing people to bank from anywhere, anytime and in any way ensures their clients have full control.

Capitec is now the second large-scale enterprise customer to use Electrum’s USSD platform. Thanks to our extensive experience with USSD and transactional banking solutions, we were able to offer better value to our banking client. These efficiencies aligned well with their vision of providing superior value to their own customers. The bank’s insights into their clients’ circumstances in an economy under severe pressure enables them to challenge the status quo and make adjustments that address demands in the market.

Over the past few years, Electrum and Capitec have developed a strong working relationship. “We’re proud to be associated with a bank of Capitec’s calibre,” says Dave. The bank was recently voted best in the world for the second year in a row, according to the Lafferty Group’s annual Global Bank Quality Benchmarking Study. We’re pleased that the business agility, value and expertise we provides suits a bank like Capitec – one that’s continually developing some of the most innovative products in the market.

Electrum Payments

Electrum provides transaction processing solutions to banks, retailers, and MNOs, helping them to find better ways to transact. As a vibrant and innovative SaaS company, we deliver industry-leading expertise and technology to solve real problems every day.

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