Denis Opudo
Lebo Gunguluza is a famous South African businessman and the founder of Gunguluza Enterprises and Media Group (New GEM Group). Lebo launched New Gem Group which is the first 100% bank owned by an African. The bank is hospitality, communications and black-owned media group. The digital bank went with the name Azar and was launched on 12th December 2017. Azar is a neo-banking and global mobile payments platform that charges users directly from their wallet, bank account or mobile phone services.
The development was facilitated by the high number of smartphone owners that are within the age bracket of 16 and 34 years in South Africa alone, and that is the first targeted age group. The company intends to start up a bank that is in the customer’s control where all the banking services are carried through the mobile phone at ones comfort throughout Africa. The app is found on both Android and iOS which allows the users to open a bank account and start operating it immediately.
The company will make use of an AzarNexus NFC enabled sticker or an Azar Halo Ring to carry out transactions. Customer’s account information will be included on the sticker and the ring which is attached to the back of the mobile phone that will, later on, enable and process smart payments. The app has some authentication securities. The main requirement is to own a SIM card on the phone, and the phone owner is the only one who can authorize a transaction using their four digits PIN or Azar biometric authentication. That gives one the best security and prevents one from the risks of fraud.
The main targets are the unbanked population and the youths in Africa. The company aims at operating both locally and internationally. Currently, users can deposit money into their mobile accounts through EFT, direct deposit at any Barclays (Absa) ATM, peer-to-peer, e-top-ups and wallet top-ups at mobile wallet agents that are countrywide. The founder is not the first one to get into the digital banking industry. The company is expected to hit the ground rolling in the first three months of 2018.
