UAE-based telecom service provider Etisalat Group is set to expand its mobile phone-based commerce service ‘Flous’ in Niver through its subsidiary Etisalat Moov.

“Etisalat is expanding the footprint of ‘Flous,’ designed to serve unbanked populations, to Niger,” said Khalifa Al Shamsi, chief digital services officer at Etisalat Group.

With Flous, customers can use their mobile phones as digital wallets to pay for goods and services; transfer money to friends and family; withdraw and deposit cash; top up mobile phones and manage bank accounts.  The service is offered in partnership with Banque Atlantique Niger.

Etisalat and Banque Atlantique will provide customers with virtual bank accounts, enabling them to use their mobile phones as debit cards and manage funds directly from their handsets. The service, which requires a password for each transaction, is designed to give customers security and flexibility and is accessible on any handset from the most basic to the most sophisticated mobile handset.

Ango Nana Aissa, CEO of Banque Atlantique Niger, said: “The partnership with Etisalat Moov to develop mobile commerce services is a great opportunity to transform the banking sector in Niger. We will provide banking services to all communities in the country and raise their levels of financial participation by redesigning relationship between financial institutions and customers”. - TradeArabia News Service