WhatsApp Chatbots handy alternate options for USSD in Africa

• USSD is used extensively throughout Africa to allow cell banking and cell funds
• Regardless of its widespread use, USSD has vital limitations. The menus could be cumbersome and troublesome to navigate, transactions are prone to interception and lack strong encryption.
• WhatsApp chatbots signify a promising various to USSD in Africa’s digital monetary companies sector by providing a extra user-friendly, safe, and cost-effective answer.

Unstructured Supplementary Service Knowledge (USSD) have been quoted as a catalyst for monetary inclusion in Africa for over a decade now. Nonetheless, with the arrival of latest applied sciences and platforms, the usage of USSD has been largely overshadowed by extra superior types of cell banking. The mixing of banking companies via WhatsApp has the potential to revolutionize the best way we handle our funds. With its extensive attain and user-friendly interface, WhatsApp can rapidly grow to be the go-to channel for purchasers to entry their banking companies.

USSD was launched within the Nineteen Nineties after engineers found they might use it as a complement to the present GSM. It was extra targeted on person-to-person communication between a cell community operator’s computer systems and its subscribers’ handsets.

USSD has been a dependable software for cell banking and monetary companies throughout Africa as a consequence of its compatibility with fundamental cellphones and its skill to perform with out web connectivity. It permits customers to carry out transactions equivalent to stability enquiries, cash transfers, and invoice funds via easy text-based instructions.

Additionally Learn: USSD driving digital and monetary inclusion in Africa

Taking monetary companies to WhatsApp chatbot

Regardless of its widespread use, USSD has vital limitations. The menus could be cumbersome and troublesome to navigate, particularly for customers who usually are not tech-savvy. Transactions are prone to interception and lack strong encryption, posing safety dangers. The text-only interactions and restricted transaction choices limit the person expertise, and every session can incur prices, which can be a barrier for low-income customers.

In keeping with information from the International Programs for Cellular Communication (GSMA), smartphone adoption in Africa was at 51 per cent in 2022 and is anticipated to succeed in 88 per cent by 2030. So it’s crucial to offer monetary companies to customers with out modifying their present utilization patterns. That’s taking monetary companies to WhatsApp and different messaging purposes.

WhatsApp has revolutionized the best way we talk and keep linked with our family and friends. The favored messaging app is projected to attain virtually three billion distinctive energetic customers worldwide in June 2024, up by seven % in comparison with the corresponding month in 2023.

WhatsApp has gained immense reputation throughout Africa, with thousands and thousands of customers leveraging the platform for communication. As of the third of 2023, Nigeria noticed roughly 95.1 per cent of the nation’s digital inhabitants partaking with cell social messaging platform WhatsApp on a month-to-month foundation. Roughly 93.9 per cent of web customers in South Africa reported utilizing WhatsApp each month.

Its widespread adoption could be attributed to a number of components equivalent to an intuitive interface that’s straightforward to make use of for folks of all ages, reasonably priced information packages offered by many telecom operators, and the assist for wealthy media equivalent to textual content, pictures, voice notes, and movies, enabling a richer person expertise. The mixing of chatbots into WhatsApp can considerably improve the availability of digital monetary companies making it a extremely priceless platform for companies to succeed in out to their prospects.

WhatsApp chatbots present a conversational interface that’s straightforward to navigate. Customers can work together with the chatbot utilizing pure language, making transactions less complicated and extra intuitive. WhatsApp gives end-to-end encryption, guaranteeing that each one communications between customers and the chatbot are safe. Chatbots can scale back transaction prices as they function over the web, which could be extra reasonably priced than USSD periods.

Moreover, they’ll present round the clock service with out the necessity for human intervention, guaranteeing that customers have entry to monetary companies at any time. Furthermore, chatbots could be programmed to know and reply in a number of languages equivalent to Swahili, Zulu, Xhosa, Shona, Ndebele e.t.c catering to the varied linguistic panorama of Africa. chatbots additionally don’t require you having to memorize ambiguous USSD codes for various companies and completely different banks.

A number of monetary establishments and fintech corporations in Africa have begun to deploy WhatsApp chatbots to streamline their companies. Banks are utilizing WhatsApp chatbots to allow prospects to verify account balances, switch funds, and request mini-statements. Microfinance establishments leverage chatbots to offer mortgage software companies, reimbursement reminders, and buyer assist.

Cellular cash suppliers use WhatsApp chatbots to facilitate cash transfers, invoice funds, and airtime purchases. For instance, the Kenyan cell community operator Safaricom built-in its M-Pesa companies with WhatsApp, permitting customers to carry out varied transactions via the chatbot interface. This integration has made monetary companies extra accessible and handy for thousands and thousands of customers.

Regardless of the quite a few benefits, there are challenges that have to be addressed to make sure the widespread adoption of WhatsApp chatbots. Whereas smartphone utilization is growing, a good portion of the inhabitants nonetheless lacks dependable web entry.  In keeping with information from GSMA, Africa additionally has the best utilization hole globally, with 680 million folks unconnected. As well as, it additionally falls behind all areas globally, with solely 25 per cent of its inhabitants linked its cell broadband companies. There’s a want to enhance digital literacy amongst customers to make sure they’ll successfully make the most of chatbot companies. Strong technological infrastructure is required to assist the seamless operation of chatbots.

Additionally Learn: Zimbabwe: EcoCash introduces AI-powered bot to enhance buyer expertise