High-level Seychelles delegation and ProgressSoft at Connected World Forum after nationwide mobile money launch

The global payment solutions giant ProgressSoft will share details of the countrywide roll-out of its mobile payment solution in the Republic of Seychelles at the upcoming Connected World Forum in Dubai from 20-21 November. ProgressSoft CEO, Mr. Michael Wakileh, the Seychelles Minister of Finance, Trade & Investment, H.E. Mr. Pierre Laporte and the Governor of the Central Bank of Seychelles, H.E. Ms. Abel, head up a distinguished list of more than 100 leading industry experts who will address the conference while some 70 exhibitors will display the latest lifeline technology and services. More than a thousand lifeline services experts will gather for the Connected World Forum, which incorporates Mobile Money Global and Mobile Health Global.

ProgressSoft this week announced the project launch of the total countrywide mobile payment solution, PS-mPay, in the Republic of Seychelles. The announcement was made during a meeting that joined the President of the Republic of Seychelles, H.E. Mr. James Michel and ProgressSoft’s CEO Mr. Michael Wakileh, along with all members of the Government of Seychelles Cabinet and the Governor of the Central Bank of Seychelles. During the meeting, Mr. Wakileh told the honorable attendees that ProgressSoft’s pioneering mobile payment solution, PS-mPay, would “move payments in Seychelles to a new paradigm”.

Mr. Wakileh highlighted the importance of collaboration among the main stakeholders of this momentous project, which include the Central Bank, the Government, all commercial banks and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), along with ProgressSoft – as the Solution Provider. He went on to explain how PS-mPay will provide all citizens, expatriates and tourists in Seychelles with Person-to-Person (P2P), Person-to-Business (P2B) and Person-to-Government (P2G) real-time mobile payments. The solution will also avail Direct Credits, Near Field Communication (NFC) based Point-of-Sale (POS) Payments, International Remittances and Bill Payments – all to be conducted via the mobile phone.

“It’s a fantastic concept”, expressed H.E. Mr. James Michel in reaction to the presented solution.

ProgressSoft will soon engage in the research and development phase of the project with the assistance of the Central Bank and the Government of Seychelles to achieve the implementation of the new system by mid-2013.

Mr. Wakileh affirmed that this is yet another milestone in ProgressSoft’s partnership with the Central Bank of Seychelles; “while we provide such real-time and state-of-the-art payment services, we hope to add one more reason of pride to the Seychelles beautiful islands”.

In explaining the benefits that the Seychelles stands to enjoy from the mobile payment services Mr. Wakileh said the economy will primarily retain and save all monies going out of the country; money laundering should be reduced as monitoring of micro payments and auditing of all cash transactions are made possible. He also said that while all payments become real-time, the overall economic cycle is expected to get vastly accelerated and hence the GDP of the country will increase.

According to the ProgressSoft CEO the banking sector would also benefit with the Central Bank having more control over all payments, which reflect in reduction of unnecessary overheads of printing and re-printing money notes. He said that meanwhile, PS-mPay will allow for the financial inclusion of the unbanked people in the country, which will furnish a new customer base for banks in Seychelles without requiring any extra operational cost or front-end employment. As mobile payment and transfer become the norm, dealing with cash shall decrease. This will have a positive impact on banks as they realize reduction in costs relating to cash handling as well as ATM machines investment and maintenance.
Mr Wakileh and the partners from Seychelles will present more details about this progressive mobile payment project during the Connected World Forum Plenary on 20 November.

10h00: Press conference
11h25: Collaborative Model for Countrywide Mobile Payments in the Republic of Seychelles
The panel will consist of H.E. Ms. Abel, the Governor of the Central Bank of Seychelles, H.E. Mr. Pierre Laporte, Seychelles Minister of Finance Trade & Investment, and Mr. Michael Wakileh, CEO of ProgressSoft Corporation. The panelists will jointly present the efforts made towards providing a countrywide mobile payment service in the Seychelles and will convey the unparalleled value of this pioneering experience to the mobile money decision makers attending the conference.

The Connected World Forum consists of three separate streams: Mobile Money, Mobile Health and Mobile Life.

Event dates:
19 November: Pre-conference workshop, Mobile Money and Mobile Health Academy
20-21 November: Mobile Money, Mobile Health and Mobile Life Conference days
20 November: Connected World Forum Awards
22 November: Post-conference workshop: Mobile Money and Mobile Health Academy

Location: Atlantis The Palm, Dubai, UAE

Connected World Forum is part of Clarion Events, the UK's largest independent events company with annual turnover of over £150m, drawing upon over 80 years of experience of hosting strategic conferences conferences and seated events across Britain, Europe, North and South America, Africa, Middle East and Asia. Our events, business-to-business and business-to-consumer, serve 15 different market sectors from leisure and entertainment to finance, from retail to gaming and from fine art to energy.

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Tel. +27 21 700 3558
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This release was published on openPR.