Day: November 9, 2021

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Standard Bank enabled UnionPay contactless payments across South Africa

JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Standard Bank South Africa (SBSA) and UnionPay International (UPI) jointly announced that Standard Bank point-of-sale devices have been enabled for UnionPay contactless payment.

The cooperation is a strategic move from UPI that follows the surging trend of the global contactless payment industry and accelerates the development of international mobile payment services.

According to a survey conducted by RTI[1], around 30% of the respondents have started to use contactless payments since the pandemic began. And 70% of those users are likely to continue using contactless payments post-COVID-19. Contactless payments have emerged as an essential solution for all the businesses as it enables them to drive their business forward along with ensuring safety to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

“At Standard Bank, we continue to be at the forefront of providing our clients with a variety of innovative digital and contactless payment solutions,” says Nelisa Zulu, Head of Card and Payments at Standard Bank South Africa.

“We have seen contactless payment spend grow by 272% year-on-year, as we see our clients’ preferences shift towards digital alternatives for payment, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through our relationships with UnionPay, we continue to offer easy and convenient payment solutions for our clients, including simply tapping their cards,” comments Zulu.

“We are grateful to further extend our cooperation with Standard Bank”, said Luping Zhang, General Manager at UnionPay International Africa. “We encourage UnionPay cardholders to use contactless payments to minimise the impact of the pandemic on their daily life”.

Standard Bank is the largest banking group on the African continent by assets offering universal financial services across sub-Saharan Africa. With a deep understanding of emerging markets and evolving consumer demands, Standard Bank is working to support and grow the number of transactions through partnerships.

At present, UnionPay cards are widely accepted in South Africa in all sectors, effectively meeting the diverse purchasing needs of UnionPay cardholders living and visiting South Africa. UnionPay’s acceptance network has expanded to 180 countries and regions in recent years, with cards issued in 70 countries and regions, including over 10 African countries. The Nilson Report (Issue 1154) shows that UnionPay ranks first among all card schemes in terms of cards issuance and transaction volume worldwide.  UnionPay has launched various innovative payment products in Africa in response to the worldwide digital transformation and financial inclusion.

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An open letter to The Us ambassador in Eritrea

The US Ambassador to Eritrea is supposed to work for consolidating and bringing together for mutual benefit of the US and Eritrea. That is normal work of an ambassador.

 

Unfortunately, the relationship between the US and Eritrea spoiled in the late 1930s. At that time, when the then emerorr of Ethiopia king Haile Selassie was looking for either Somalia og Djibouti, the US advised the emperor to abandon the idea and instead to look for Eritrea. For reference of this idea of the US read a book written by the then advisor of the emperor John Spenser, a book called Ethiopia at bay.

 

The strategic interest of the US on HOA preceded the well being of Eritreans. Consequently, Eritreans were persuaded to wage bloody war for 30 years for independence. The damage done by the US to Eritrea was not enough and continued to be applied during the proxy war by hiring the clique TPLF during years from 1998 to 2000. Before the start of the war by TPLF against Eritrea, the then ambassador of the US to Ethiopia, DR Shinn gathered the authorities of TPLF in Adigrat and gave them green light to start the war.

 

The hostility of the US to Eritrea is not going to stop until the strategic interest of the US is fulfilled. What we Eritreans anticipate, to be stratig interest of the US is obvious, and it is the natural location of Eritrea at the opening mouth of the Red Sea. But, what do they want to have from Eritrea? Is it a base? Or do they want Eritrea to be their servant like TPLF? Or, precisely what do they want?

 

The US did more than enough damage to Eritrea. If it fails to fulfil its overt and covert machinations, it uses sanction as a weapon. For a small country like Eritrea, sanction is huge damage. Especially Eritrea, after a long war for independence and continuing subversive action from TPLF, Eritrea didn’t get pause to concentrate on building up the nation.

 

The Us failed to kneel down Eritrea and the reason for the failure is due to the resilience and unity of the Eritrean government and the people of Eritrea. So, let the ambassador of the US to Eritrea know that the strategic interest of the US in Eritrea would not be fulfilled at the cost of Eritrean independence and sovereignty. There is an alternative and it is a positive and healthy diplomatic relationship between the US and Eritrea. A positive and healthy relationship would come from a positive and healthy ambassador, not from a negative and sick ambassador.

 

Source: Dehai Eritrea Online

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Meeting of NUEW branch in Juba

The National Union of Eritrean Women branch in Juba, Republic of South Sudan, organized a meeting on 7 November aimed at strengthening the participation of members in national affairs.

Speaking at the event, Ms. Rishan Berhe, Vice-Chairperson of the union branch, said that the objective of the meeting was to revive the activity of the union branch that was temporarily halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ms. Rishan also gave a briefing on the charted-out programs of the union branch and called on members to reinforce participation in the implementation of the programs.

At the meeting, Mr. Fuad Mohammed, head of Public and Community Affairs at the Eritrean Embassy, and Mr. Teame Kibreab, a staff member of the Embassy, conducted a seminar on the “Role of the National Union of Eritrean Women on National Unity and Timely Issues” and “Role of Eritrean Women in Eritrean Society” respectively.

The participants on their part expressed readiness to develop organizational capacity and participation in the national development drives.

 

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

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Meeting of Eritrean nationals in UK

Eritrean nationals in the UK organized a meeting on 7 November in London focusing on the objective situation in the homeland as well as regional and global developments.

Speaking at the event in which nationals from the UK cities of London, Sheffield, Leeds, Birmingham, and Glasgow took part, Mr. Estifanos Habtemariam, Eritrean Ambassador to the UK and North Ireland, said that Eritrea came out victorious against all external hostilities and continued to contribute its part in the peace and stability in the region.

Ambassador Estifanos went on to say that Eritrea will maintain reinforced engagement for the development of mutual cooperation and friendship with the neighboring peoples and countries.

Indicating that the new era of peace and cooperation is the result of the strong perseverance and resilience of the Eritrean people inside the country and abroad, Ambassador Estifanos called on nationals in the Diaspora to strengthen organizational capacity and unity as in the past and play due role in the national affairs.

Pointing out that Eritrea with the solid unity of its people and visionary leadership possesses a bright future; Ambassador Estifanos called for committed participation for the successful implementation of the national development drives.

The participants on their part expressed resolve to strengthen organizational capacity and contribution in the national development programs.

 

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

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OANDA partners with CONVRS to revolutionise account opening process

LONDON, Nov. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — A global leader in online multi-asset trading services, currency data and analytics, OANDA has partnered with personalised customer engagement platform, CONVRS to enhance the account opening process and better engage with clients.

Under the partnership, prospective traders in the emerging markets can now open a demo account direct from a wide range of messaging apps, making the process simpler than ever. The new integration also enables OANDA to converse with prospects and clients through Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, LINE, Telegram and SMS in 53 languages.

Kurt vom Scheidt, Chief Operating Officer with OANDA, remarked, “In today’s world, people are increasingly using instant messaging apps in every aspect of their daily lives. As such, we wanted to upgrade our onboarding protocols to better reflect this, extending our channels of communication to include the world’s most popular social media and mobile messaging apps, ushering our client engagement activities into the 21st century in the process.”

“Combining deep-seated expertise in the retail trading industry with a comprehensive plug-and-play solution, CONVRS was a natural choice. It’s exciting for OANDA to be able to increase engagement with our clients in a way that’s easiest for them by using their choice of tools and methods rather than those that might otherwise be imposed upon them. We look forward to introducing our new messaging capabilities to other jurisdictions around the world in the coming months,” he continued.

Further commenting, Enis Mehmet, Cofounder at CONVRS, said, “A FinTech firm at heart, OANDA has earned a reputation for using cutting-edge technology to connect with their clients’ ever-changing needs. Given the 85% open rate for messaging apps, OANDA is now meeting its clients where they are. Being able to support them in a variety of available channels, we look forward to working with how they engage clients in the other stages of the customer journey.”

About OANDA

Founded in 1996, OANDA was the first company to share exchange rate data free of charge on the Internet, launching an FX trading platform that helped pioneer the development of web-based currency trading five years later. Today, the group provides online multi-asset trading, currency data and analytics to retail and corporate clients, demonstrating an unrivalled expertise in foreign exchange. With regulated entities in nine of the world’s most active financial markets, OANDA remains dedicated to transforming the business of foreign exchange. For more information, please visit oanda.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube.

About CONVRS

CONVRS (conv.rs) was established in 2018 and is presently used by over 25 financial intermediaries including leading FX/CFD brokers and digital banking solutions. The technology integrates messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger, LINE together with SMS and website chat in an API-driven omnichannel platform, streamlining the company and customer conversations. Founded by two financial markets industry veterans, CONVRS is now the leading partner for financial intermediaries looking to engage their clients in conversational experiences, from opening demo accounts, chatting with business agents or receiving personalised curated content.

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G&W Electric Announces All New Teros™ Recloser for High Speed Fault Isolation

The all-new smart solution improves grid reliability, resiliency, mitigates outage risks and easily integrates into existing electrical grids

BOLINGBROOK, Ill., Nov. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — G&W Electric, a global supplier of electric power equipment since 1905, today announced the launch of its Teros™ Recloser which is available for markets outside the U.S. and Canada. Capable of working with a variety of configurations in any application, the new Teros recloser is designed to improve system reliability and grid resiliency. This new recloser provides overcurrent protection for temporary faults on overhead distribution lines and reduces long-term system outages.

“Grid reliability affects everyone—all around the globe—from the average household to entire factories and telecom systems. The results are not just inconvenient, but economic,” said John Mueller, chairman and owner of G&W Electric. “To better mitigate disruption and to manage reliable electrical service, improvements made in recloser technology are imperative to ensuring a reduction in widespread power outages. Today, reclosers are the critical must-have in a utility’s grid reliability.”

The new Teros recloser offers a wide range of benefits and fits most configurations, despite a wide variance of requirements from country to country. Requiring no oil or SF6, the Teros Recloser eliminates the need for routine maintenance and improves personnel safety. Solid dielectric and electronically controlled, Teros has been field-tested for reliable load switching and overcurrent protection. Whether looking to improve or expand grid systems and capabilities, the Teros offers utilities site-ready designs for new and existing electrical systems.

“With growing populations and a greater demand for reliable power, paired with new construction, a reliance on technology and the effects of climate change, utilities are working hard to save customers the expenses and inconveniences of frequent outages,” added Mueller. “Reclosers have become the global market solution to the expansion and modernization of distribution networks for enhanced reliable power.”

The Teros system is designed to reduce the amount, frequency, and duration of outages on overhead systems, including main distribution lines, distribution branch circuits and substations. Lightweight and compact, the Teros site-ready designs provide all the necessary brackets, arresters and voltage transformers providing ease of installation. In addition, this new recloser is power grid automation ready, simplifying the need for future automation requirements.

To learn more about the grid resiliency challenges faced around the globe, download G&W Electric’s latest white paper titled, “Reclosers: Safeguarding Electrical Grid Reliability, reducing system outages and increasing reliability by providing quality overcurrent protection on overhead lines.”

To learn more about Teros System Recloser visit www.gwelectric.com/teros.

About G&W Electric

Since 1905, G&W Electric has helped power the world with innovative power grid solutions and products. With the introduction of the first disconnectable cable terminating device in the early 1900s, G&W Electric began to build a reputation for innovative engineered solutions to meet the needs of systems designers. With an ever-present commitment to customer satisfaction, G&W Electric enjoys a worldwide reputation for quality products and superior service. For more information on G&W Electric visit their new website at www.gwelectric.com. Follow G&W Electric on Twitter @GW_Electric and on LinkedIn.

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