Decode Fintech

As a fintech company, you work hard to ensure that nothing goes wrong. But when things do go wrong, like they inevitably will, how you handle the situation can make the difference between a customer who churns, and a passionate ambassador for life. In this episode, we speak with Francis Appiah, the Operations Manager at expressPay.Francis speaks about hiring great support teams, and how a diverse support team leverages past experiences, skills and relationships to go above and beyond when solving customer problems. He also discusses how to balance providing great customer service to even the most difficult customers, while protecting team welfare.IN THIS EPISODE WE TALK ABOUT2:38 — How the customer support team is set up at expressPay3:53 — What skills should an excellent support team member possess?8:11 — How expressPay's customer support team measures success9:24 — [Paystack Product Alert] Introducing Paystack Transfers paystack.com10:43 — Why cross-functional teams result in better customer outcomes11:41 — Values to watch out for when hiring for customer service roles13:29 — What an obsession with customer happiness looks like at expressPay16:35 — How expressPay handles acutely difficult customersLINKSConnect with Francis on LinkedInCheck out expressPayFOLLOW USThe Decode Fintech newsletter is a weekly email summary of the most important news in African fintech. Subscribe to receive original commentary and curated stories, as well as the latest episode of the podcast.Subscribe to the Decode Fintech NewsletterFollow Decode Fintech on TwitterDECODE FINTECH IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAYSTACKPaystack helps Africa's most successful fintechs build and scale popular financial service products with the industry's best-documented APIs. Please visit paystack.com/fintech to find out more.

Customer service goes beyond just answering emails and phone calls. When managed correctly, every interaction with customers can generate key insights that help grow your business.In this episode, Steve Amaza, a Customer Success Manager for User Operations at Paystack, speaks about how Paystack uses customer service data to improve the product, the tooling that the team uses to keep up even as the company scales, and the value of empathy and a problem-solving mindset in building a world-class customer support team.IN THIS EPISODE WE TALK ABOUT0:00 — Introduction2:08 — Using customer service data to improve the product4:12 — Key metrics for support teams5:03 — How to handle acutely unhappy customers6:47 — Using documentation to scale support9:06 — [Paystack Merchant Alert] Introducing Bento paystack.com/bento10:17 — Why solving the problem matters more than simply giving a response11:40 — Deep empathy as a customer service superpower13:38 — Episode recapLINKSConnect with Steve Amaza on LinkedInFOLLOW USThe Decode Fintech newsletter is a weekly email summary of the most important news in African fintech. Subscribe to receive original commentary and curated stories, as well as the latest episode of the podcast.Subscribe to the Decode Fintech NewsletterFollow Decode Fintech on TwitterDECODE FINTECH IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAYSTACKPaystack helps Africa's most successful fintechs build and scale popular financial service products with the industry's best-documented APIs. Please visit paystack.com/fintech to find out more.

What should you know before expanding your Africa-based fintech to more countries?In this episode, we explore the art and science of launching financial service products beyond your home country, covering everything from how to choose which countries to expand into, to how to hire in different markets, and what to watch out for when incorporating the business.Our guides through this topic are experienced operators with long experience in expansion: Wiza Jakalasi (Chipper Cash), Marcello Schermer (Yoco), Adia Sowho (ex-Migo), and Maria Rotilu (ex-Branch).IN THIS EPISODE WE TALK ABOUT0:00 — Introduction2:25 — Why businesses expand into new countries3:35 — Expanding for growth4:00 — The importance of timing4:52 — How to pick your next country7:03 — Prioritizing business drivers9:49 — The impact of regulation14:58 — [Paystack Product Alert] Introducing Paystack's verification service paystack.com/verify15:57 — Midway recap16:34 — Navigating incorporation20:02 — The role of relationships21:55 — How to think about hiring23:53 — The best part of expansionLINKSConnect with Wiza Jakalasi on LinkedInCheck out Africa’s Talking and Chipper CashConnect with Marcello Schermer on LinkedInCheck out YocoConnect with Adia Sowho on LinkedInCheck out MigoConnect with Maria Rotilu on LinkedInCheck out Branch InternationalCheck out the Geert Hofstede Cultural DimensionsLearn more about Delaware C-CorpsCheck out the Mauritius Double Taxation AgreementFOLLOW USThe Decode Fintech newsletter is a weekly email summary of the most important news in African fintech. Subscribe to receive original commentary and curated stories, as well as the latest episode of the podcast.Subscribe to the Decode Fintech NewsletterFollow Decode Fintech on TwitterDECODE FINTECH IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAYSTACKPaystack helps Africa's most successful fintechs build and scale popular financial service products with the industry's best-documented APIs. Please visit paystack.com/fintech to find out more.

Ghana initially lagged behind other African countries when it came to mobile money adoption, but fast forward to 2020, and Ghana is now the fastest growing mobile money market in Africa. How did the country pull this off?In this episode, we go deep into the origins of mobile money in Ghana, its early challenges, and how numerous organizations successfully came together to take this technology mainstream.Among the many guests who help break it down for us are Archie Hesse, CEO of Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS), and Bruno Akpaka, the first General Manager of MTN Mobile Money in Ghana.Listen to learn how Ghana became one of the fastest growing mobile money markets in Africa.IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT0:00 — Introduction02:00 — Mobile Money 101 - A timeline of Ghana's journey03:37 — Enter GhIPSS - controller of the spaghetti junction06:44 — The Bank of Ghana and GhIPSS' first attempts at improving financial inclusion11:24 — The rise and fall of bank-led branchless banking13:30 — The rise of MTN Mobile Money19:01 — [Paystack Product Alert] Introducing Paystack Transfers paystack.com20:03 — The early days of MTN Mobile Money in Ghana23:42 — The first iteration of mobile money in Ghana25:42 — Improving financial inclusion through mobile money interoperability and agent distribution29:06 — The role of mobile money in Ghana's financial systemLINKSConnect with Kwami Williams on LinkedInCheck out Kwami's companies Moringa Connect and Thrive TogetherConnect with Archie Hesse on LinkedInLearn more about GhIPSSConnect with Bruno Akpaka on LinkedInLearn more about MTN Mobile MoneyConnect with Nana Ama Yankah on LinkedInCheck Nana Ama's company NAYA by AfricaCheck out CGAP: Consultative Group to Assist the PoorLearn more about the Bank of GhanaFOLLOW USThe Decode Fintech newsletter is a weekly email summary of the most important news in African fintech. Subscribe to receive original commentary and curated stories, as well as the latest episode of the podcast.Subscribe to the Decode Fintech NewsletterFollow Decode Fintech on TwitterDECODE FINTECH IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAYSTACKPaystack helps Africa's most successful fintechs build and scale popular financial service products with the industry's best-documented APIs. Please visit paystack.com/fintech to find out more.

Financial technology in Africa is changing at an accelerating rate, and with it, the very nature of business on the continent. To understand what’s actually happening on the ground, you need to hear from the teams in the field. The Decode Fintech Podcast takes you directly to the operators on the frontlines.As one of the largest payments companies in Africa, the Paystack team is constantly speaking to teams doing amazing work all over the continent. The Decode Fintech Podcast allows us to hit "record" and share what we're learning!In this season, we switched things up and made a quick trip around the continent, discussing everything from the history of mobile money in Ghana, to best practices for international expansion, to the future of cryptocurrencies on the continent. Thank you for listening!Subscribe to the Decode Fintech email newsletter at decodefintech.com

The Nigerian Fintech space is seeing an explosion of savings, lending and investment platforms.Today's episode features Odunayo Eweniyi, the Co-Founder and COO of PiggyVest, one of the earliest independent digital savings platforms in Nigeria.We explore how the idea for PiggyVest was born from a viral tweet, and their journey from being a savings platform, to now, additionally, making investments accessible to every Nigerian.In this episode, we talk about01:36 - Launching PiggyVest with inspiration from a viral tweet03:40 - Making investment opportunities accessible to Nigerian youths09:43 - Learning how to make money while providing value15:00 - Helping define what financial health looks like for Nigerian youths people18:13 - Nigerians' saving habits by income category22:36 - How PiggyVest built trust amongst users24:23 - [Paystack Merchant Alert] Introducing Luno paystack.com/luno27:02 - The typical PiggyVest user28:02 - How PiggyVest does marketing31:31 - The hardest thing about running a business like PiggyVest in Nigeria33:22 - Learning some tough lessons36:05 - Rebranding - why PiggyVest changed their name41:24 - Overhauling the PiggyVest mobile app43:05 - How the team measures success44:41 - PiggyVest in 2020Follow UsThe Decode Fintech Newsletter is a weekly email summary of the most important news in African fintech. Subscribe to receive original commentary and curated stories, as well as the latest episode of the podcast.Subscribe to the Decode Fintech NewsletterFollow Decode Fintech on TwitterDecode Fintech is brought to you by PaystackPaystack helps Africa's most successful fintechs build powerful and scalable financial service products with the industry's best-documented APIs. Please visit paystack.com/fintech to find out more.

Nkebet Mesele, Snr Director, Solutions Management, Sub-Saharan Africa at Visa, breaks down Visa QR - their payment product where your camera scans a QR code to pay.We explore how it evolved to break down the barriers to commerce for businesses across Africa.In this episode, we talk about01:52 - Nkebet's journey from telecoms to banking to payments03:22 - Exploring Visa's key offline products for Africa04:58 - How Visa QR came to be06:40 - Visa QR versus POS07:40 - Exploring merchant adoption of Visa QR08:37 - Understanding how QR payments work16:46 - Visa's marketing strategies for winning new markets20.00 - [Paystack Merchant Alert] Introducing Branch paystack.com/branch20:53 - The most surprising insight Nkebet gained launching Visa QR22:56 - The future of Visa QR in Nigeria27:15 - The most important questionFollow UsThe Decode Fintech Newsletter is a weekly email summary of the most important news in African fintech. Subscribe to receive original commentary and curated stories, as well as the latest episode of the podcast.Subscribe to the Decode Fintech NewsletterFollow Decode Fintech on TwitterDecode Fintech is brought to you by PaystackPaystack helps Africa's most successful fintechs build powerful and scalable financial service products with the industry's best-documented APIs. Please visit paystack.com/fintech to find out more.

Bitcoin... Litecoin... Ethereum. Cryptocurrencies continue to dominate the headlines. What's going on in Nigeria's cryptocurrency landscape, how have regulators responded, and what does the future hold?Our guest today is Timi Ajiboye, co-founder and CEO of BuyCoins, a service that enables users trade cryptocurrencies. Timi shares what he's learned from building one of Nigeria's largest cryptocurrency platforms.In this episode, we talk about00:00 - Introduction01:07:12 - Timi's journey to founding a cryptocurrency exchange02:00:15 - A brief introduction to cryptocurrencies03:34:22 - The inspiration behind BuyCoins06:50:11 - The process of introducing BuyCoins to Nigerians09:20:28 - BuyCoins' goals for 2020 - expansion and more11:00:21 - Milestones and volumes11:52:27 - [Paystack Merchant Alert] Introducing Aella Credit paystack.com/aellacredit12:48:00 - Exploring the cryptocurrency regulation landscape across Africa14:47:17 - The question of regulation in Nigeria16:28:17 - How BuyCoins maintains customer safety18:56:17 - What Nigeria stands to gain from trading cryptocurrencies21:32:00 - The most important questionFollow UsThe Decode Fintech newsletter is a weekly email summary of the most important news in African fintech. Subscribe to receive original commentary and curated stories, as well as the latest episode of the podcast.Subscribe to the Decode Fintech PodcastFollow Decode Fintech on TwitterDecode Fintech is brought to you by PaystackPaystack helps Africa's most successful fintechs build powerful and scalable financial service products with the industry's best-documented APIs. Please visit paystack.com/fintech to find out more.

Visa, Mastercard, and Verve. These are currently the dominant card networks in Nigeria. But in September 2018, American Express - the world's largest integrated global payments platform - made waves by announcing their entry into the market.In this episode, we speak with Catherine Malec, Vice President of Business Development at American Express. Catherine shares a brief history of Amex, what Amex looks for in local partners, and exactly what American Express' launch means for card users and business owners.In this episode, we talk about01:12 - Catherine's journey from animal physiology to marketing04:41 - What it means to be the world's largest global payments network05:10 - A brief history of American Express08:19 - American Express' Africa presence10:31 - [Paystack Merchant Alert] Introducing Cowrywise paystack.com/cowrywise13:20 - Behind the scenes of the Amex launch in Nigeria16:52 - What the launch means for Amex users within and outside Nigeria21:09 - What Amex looks for in local partners27:29 - The most important questionLinks MentionedAmerican Express' Nigeria websiteFollow UsThe Decode Fintech newsletter is a weekly email summary of the most important news in African fintech. Subscribe to receive original commentary and curated stories, as well as the latest episode of the podcast.Subscribe to the Decode Fintech NewsletterFollow Decode Fintech on TwitterDecode Fintech is brought to you by PaystackPaystack helps Africa's most successful fintechs build powerful and scalable financial service products with the industry's best-documented APIs. Please visit paystack.com/fintech to find out more.

Paga is one of a handful of non-bank companies that have succeeded in building a truly mainstream financial product in Nigeria.Over 11 million Nigerians use Paga's mobile wallet to send and receive money and pay their bills. In 2018, the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) recognized Paga with an award for being the top mobile money operator, by transaction count, for the third year in a row.Paga recently celebrated their 10 year anniversary, and in this episode, Paga CEO Tayo Oviosu tells us the story of how his team built a B2C African fintech success over the course of a decade.In this episode, we talk about03:11 - Why Tayo built Paga09:27 - How Paga drives brand awareness13:32 - [Paystack Merchant Alert] Introducing PiggyVest paystack.com/piggyvest16:20 - All the ways you can use Paga's USSD offering to access services17:38 - How Tayo sees Paga's offerings evolving over time20:15 - The most surprising trend Tayo has witnessed from his time in the payments industry22:56 - Paga's international expansion strategy26:01 - Why building in-house was tough, and totally worth itFollow UsThe Decode Fintech newsletter is a weekly email summary of the most important news in African fintech. Subscribe to receive original commentary and curated stories, as well as the latest episode of the podcast.Subscribe to the Decode Fintech NewsletterFollow Decode Fintech on TwitterDecode Fintech is brought to you by PaystackPaystack helps Africa's most successful fintechs build powerful and scalable financial service products with the industry's best-documented APIs. Please visit paystack.com/fintech to find out more.

Yemi Atanda, Group Head of ePayments at Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), takes us behind the scenes of GTB 737, GTB's wildly successful USSD service.Yemi shares the origin of 737, from how they selected the specific numbers 737, to usage trends, to the wildly successful mass marketing campaign that helped introduce the financial product to everyday Nigerians.In this episode, we talk about01:06 - Yemi's journey from mechanical engineering to digital banking03:34 - What USSD is, and how 737 came to be11:56 - Building out 737 with human-centered design13:22 - The various use-cases for 737, and the one that trumps them all16:55 - [Paystack Merchant Alert] Introducing Renmoney paystack.com/renmoney17:46 - The typical 737 customer19:08 - How the team came up with the popular 737 jingle20:25 - Marketing 737 to the average Nigerian22:17 - Preventing fraud on 73723:50 - Exploring plans to expand 737 outside of Nigeria25:27 - Learning about Nigerian behaviour through the lens of 737 usage trends27:23 - The future of 737 as a USSD service30:59 - The most important questionFollow UsThe Decode Fintech Newsletter is a weekly email summary of the most important news in African fintech. Subscribe to receive original commentary and curated stories, as well as the latest episode of the podcast.Subscribe to the Decode Fintech NewsletterFollow Decode Fintech on TwitterDecode Fintech is brought to you by PaystackPaystack helps Africa's most successful fintechs build powerful and scalable financial service products with the industry's best-documented APIs. Please visit paystack.com/fintech to find out more.

Financial technology in Africa is changing at an accelerating rate, and with it, the very nature of business on the continent. To understand what’s actually happening on the ground, you need to hear from the teams in the field. The Decode Fintech Podcast takes you directly to the operators on the frontlines. As one of the largest payments companies in Africa, the Paystack team is constantly speaking to teams doing amazing work all over the continent. The Decode Fintech Podcast allows us to hit "record" and share what we're learning! We'll be speaking with a broad range of players from across the African fintech ecosystem, from startup founders, to bankers, to the folks who run the card networks, to regulators, and many others. In each episode, an operator breaks down the ground truth of how they’re handling everything from product development to marketing in some of the world’s toughest business environments. Tune in as the people building Africa’s financial infrastructure share what they’re seeing on the frontlines — what’s working, what’s not, and what’s next. Subscribe to the Decode Fintech email newsletter at decodefintech.com