Payments Firm Dash promises the integration of 200 mobile money wallets and Eyes Africa-wide expansion

Some of you may have seen an emerging payment app in your app stores called Dash.

It’s a payment app by nature, but according to the founders, their approach differs depending on the features it brings to the table.

We say differently because there are a ton of payment solutions that serve customers across Africa and around the world. To be honest, most of the solutions work just fine, but in some cases an app can’t do a small task, such as: B. Process PayPal payments so you have to look for alternatives effectively.

We caught up with the Dash team to reveal the development and blueprint of the product that aims to become Africa’s top payments app.

Dash – A company introduction

As I said, this is a fairly new product that focuses on developing a unified alternative payment network for people in Africa. Dash plans to do this using the continent’s mobile money network.

We know that mobile money services continue to grow across Africa and are being developed and marketed by carriers and banks. Kenya’s example is the most popular (M-PESA), which started operations back in 2007 and has since grown to cement the power of mobile money and related products.

To that end, we all know that mobile money is a resilient payments infrastructure – however, according to Dash, the ecosystem is fragmented.

Dash adds that it packs more than 200 mobile wallets into a single wallet that works and can be used extensively in Africa.

Dash has currently integrated six wallets of the aforementioned +200 wallets. The 6 were completed in Kenya and Ghana.

This development means that Kenyan Dash users can fly to Ghana and use their Dash account to transact in the country without having to interface with Ghanaian wallets for mobile devices, i.e. not having to select a new mobile money SIM card in the West African State activated.

Dash says his approach is borrowed from the likes of AliPay but is original in its own way; It builds on the product value-added services.

“However, we are taking a page out of the AliPay / WeChat Pay playbook by building value-added services on our platform. This allows Dash users to access services in a single app, ”said Prince Boakye, Founder and CEO

Admittedly, groups who have worked in different countries across the continent have reported their difficulty in processing transactions seamlessly as each state has a different payment method with different instructions, currencies, and other restrictions.

“The use and acceptance of cards is still low compared to mobile money due to the large population without bank details. So we decided to build a network on mobile money, similar to what Visa / Mastercard did with banks, ”adds Prince Boakye.

The company has also raised $ 518,000 in pre-seed funding and is currently participating in Techstar’s NYC Accelerator.

Dash on the phone

The Dash app is available for both iOS and Android users.

Setting up the app is easy. Just start with your number, receive a verification code, and set up your passwords. You are in. You may need to take additional steps to fully verify your account such as: B. Entering your national ID number. The app takes care of the rest.

One thing that you will notice is that the app is packed full of features and has a wide variety of options for most of the actions we take on payments. So far, Dash seems to have everything that is very good for a growing application.

So we wanted to know the motivation behind going all-in in terms of functions and services.

“Our approach is very product-oriented. Our core team has a technical background. We attach great importance to the simplification of processes and functions that make the current approach simpler and more transparent, ”says Prince Boakye.

Dash also makes a very important point. For example, if you compare the payments on the continent with those of the industrialized nations, there are several key innovations that simply affect the daily lifestyle and cannot be found here.

One example is recurring payments. For example, your satellite or fiber subscription is paid for on a monthly basis and the companies behind it will remind you when your subscription has expired.

Dash allows you to set your Zuku bill to be paid on a specific day. The app will notify you five days in advance so that you can then pay.

“We have several nifty features that are saving our users’ time every day when they are performing financial tasks that are currently repetitive and error-prone,” adds Prince Boakye.

Payments are also the foundation of digital commerce, and Dash reports that they are building what can be called “payments as a platform”. This enables companies to digitize their services using the app.

Dash has done the same with its savings product. The company has partnered with a CMA-licensed fund manager in Kenya, which enables the platform to generate higher returns that are then shared among users.

fees

Bill payments such as airtime purchases are free.

Topping up your Dash wallet is also free.

However, bills such as Kenya Power, Zuku, Safaricom Home, and DStv come with a small fee.

Withdrawals from the wallet will also be charged.

PayPal integration

It’s not often that PayPal is built into payment apps that serve the continent.

According to Dash, the function was integrated into the app after many customer inquiries.

“This feature was made available by popular request from our users, who claimed that getting money from their sideline jobs through PayPal could be a daunting task. Some say it could be days to weeks before the money is available at terrible prices and we decided to resolve this pain point for you.

“Our main goal is not to build a walled garden, but to build an interoperable, inclusive and accessible network for our users,” says Prince Boakye.

Dash Business and Dash +

With the Dash business, companies can use the Dash network to collect payments from their customers no matter where they are. Companies working with the platform use the Dash business platform to get a real-time overview of their business transactions.

On the other hand, Dash + offers users access to exclusive services in the app for a fixed monthly fee. These premium services include the ability to increase your daily limit and much more.

Why use Dash?

Dash insists that the app is not a wire transfer service but a payment product.

Hence, it is packed with many useful features aimed at improving financial lifestyle for all purposes such as: B. Sending cash, spending cash, receiving or requesting cash from friends and family in any currency.

Dash currently works in Kenya and Ghana (user’s country) as well as across borders.

It has plans to expand its reach with the aim of serving all African countries.

The Dash app can be found here for Android users.