VIRGIN MOBILE MEA
“ Our core proposition is to make mobile better ”
ERIK DUDMAN NIELSEN FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER , VIRGIN MOBILE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
aid works and it ' s built around what you want as a customer in a modern day life ,” he said .
Commenting on Virgin Mobile MEA ’ s competitive edge , Dudman Nielsen points out this is due to three important elements :
• Customer focus
• Digital platform capabilities
• Great partnerships
“ Those three components allow us to deliver astounding results ,” he said .
Virgin Mobile MEA move into FinTech E-wallets will enable the 170 million smartphones in use across the region to access banking services and this is the focus of Virgin Mobile MEA as they move into mobile financial services following the banking licence issued in Saudia Arabia .
“ We have close to 70 per cent of the population in the MENA region being unbanked ,” points out Dudman Nielsen . “ If you combine this with the 170 million smartphones then you sense that e-wallets are the way for people to become banked .
“ Finally if you combine that within Saudi Arabia , and particularly in the GCC , all salary payments going forward will be electronic . Today , people are receiving salaries on ATM cash cards - so you have the recipe for success of e-wallets .”
Dudman Nielsen pointed e-wallets will help a typical blue collar expat worker in Saudi Arabia who will not have to go to the ATM on a Friday ( Holy day for Islam ) to collect his cash to send home but can transfer his money back home with the click of a button .
“ He will be able to trade on live exchange rates and trust us because he knows us as a trusted brand already . We see the huge potential of e-wallets and later move this capability into domestic national payments , but the first step for us is the international money remit .”
Pandemic drives rise in digital services According to Dudman Nielsen the COVID-19 pandemic has driven more customers to digital especially with the constraints of lockdown and limited access to banks and shops .
248 June 2021