MTN Group, a telecommunications group, operating across Africa, is rolling out a mobile banking service to its 80 million users. The service will be powered by technology from Fundamo, a mobile banking software provider, under a $9.7 million deal announced March 16.

The deal is an extension of the existing relationship between MTN and Fundamo, expanding “MTN MobileMoney” from South Africa into 20 additional countries. The rollout will bring basic financial services to MTN mobile subscribers in largely unbanked populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle-East. “MTN MobileMoney” doesn’t require users to setup a bank account, instead offering a variety of services from money transfer, mobile payments and balance checking to mobile purchases as well as the ability to buy airtime in real-time. Users have the option to receive a branded “MTN MobileMoney” debit card that can be used to withdraw cash from ATMs.
 

 
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