Equity Bank to offer Sim Skin with NFC for MVNO

News Wireless Kenya 29 MEI 2014
Equity Bank to offer Sim Skin with NFC for MVNO
Equity Bank has announced its customers will get special SIM cards to access the lender's MVNO without parting ways with their existing telecoms operators. Equity, which got a MVNO licence in April, plans to issue consumers with ultra-slim SIM cards that can sit on the back of normal SIM cards, saving users the trouble of migrating or carrying two phones. Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi told Business Daily that users who want to stick with their current mobile lines and at the same time enjoy Equity's banking will be able to do so with the firm's slim card. 

The slim SIM cards come in the form of a film that is 0.1mm thick and can be layered over the active side of an ordinary SIM card without interfering with its reception or operation. The layered SIM card can receive and make calls as an independent line and comes loaded with a mobile wallet for financial services. Mwangi said the cards have near field communication (NFC) capability that enables them to be swiped on point-of-sale devices. 

The SIM Skin technology is relatively new and is being spearheaded by global firms like Taisys Solutions and Digitech Communications. The special SIM card allows users to access financial services and make cheap international phone calls by diverting traffic from the parent network to the carry-on SIM. Equity Bank is planning to issue the cards to its customers free. It will use the Airtel network for the MVNO service.

Categories:

Mobile

Countries:

Kenya

Tags:

e-Payment, Launch, NFC, Sim cards

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