RBM approves MobiPay as payment aggregator
The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) has approved MobiPay to operate as a payment aggregator—a service provider through which e-commerce merchants can process their payment transactions.
In a letter dated November 2 2020 addressed to MobiPay chief executive officer, RBM deputy governor for economic services and regulation Grant Kabango said the approval is subject to regulatory requirements, including the Payment Systems Act (2016) and all relative directives and regulations issued under it.
The approval is on a six-month pilot basis.
Reads the letter in part: “Kindly note that the review of the application is subject to submission of a report to the RBM on the progress of the pilot independently audited by external auditors.”
Mobipay, which is co-owned by Aleksandr Kalanda, Webster Mbekeani, Joshua Rombosia and Daud Suleman, promises to provide merchants with an opportunity to receive digital payments through websites, apps, point of sale devices and USSD services.
A payment aggregator is a device provider that allows merchants to interface with many banks without them having to open accounts or deal with all the banks.
In an interview on Saturday, MobiPay chief technology officer Suleman said by giving a merchant one registration and allowing them to receive payments from many banks, it is opening the space for more digital transactions.
Consumers Association of Malawi executive director John Kapito described this as a breakthrough “to economic fast and improved financial transactions without depending on whether one has an account.”
