Etisalat joins Dialog’s ezCash mobile money platform, in a global first
View(s):In what has been described as a world’s first by the GSM Association’s Mobile Money Expert, Gerald Rasugu, the local unit of UAE-based Etisalat last week signed on to the ezCash mobile money platform, owned and operated by dominant Sri Lankan celco Dialog, which is, in turn, shepherded by Malaysia’s Axiata Group.
Here Etisalat Lanka Acting Chief Executive Wail Salman shakes hands with Dialog Chief Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya after the official launch. Looking on is Dialog's Senior General Manager for Mobile Money and Payments, Fariq Cader.
According to comments made by Dialog representatives at a media briefing related to this new partnership, ezCash will be available to customers from both networks, and at the same price. Further, it was also revealed that ezCash was responsible for Rs. 6 billion worth of transactions in 2013 alone, with figures now reaching Rs. 700 million per month over 2014. It also emerged that, while Dialog has 1.3 million ezCash customers to date, when both networks are combined, the potential will exist to ultimately access approximately 12.7 million customers in total, or 60 per cent of the Sri Lankan population. It also emerged that US$ 3 million has been invested into ezCash by Dialog to date, with investments currently outperforming any revenues earned.
Commenting on this newly minted partnership, the recently appointed Acting Chief Executive for Etisalat Lanka, Wail Salman, stated that joining with ezCash was less about saving money, a result of not needing to set up a competing platform. Instead, it was more about circumventing a very lengthy application process. He also commented that innovations such as mobile money were the future of the telecommunications industry.
| Customer first
Speaking to the Business Times on the sidelines of the ezCash announcement, recently appointed Acting Chief Executive for Etisalat Lanka, Wail Salman, identified his company’s focus over the coming months: “Etisalat is not focusing on just one area, it is diversifying and embarking on a strategy. We want to ensure that Etisalat plays in the premier division. However, no matter what we do, we have to keep in mind one important aspect, the customer. So we have to enhance the customer’s experience. And enhancing customer experiences happens via offering services such as ezCash… We also need to provide convenience and innovative products that enriches our customers’ lifestyles on every front. At the same time, it also has to be cost effective. This is basically my vision, to foster connectivity and to ensure that customer experience is very high”.
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