Equitel

The Equitel brand was hailed by Equity Group as the "next big thing", as part of an overhaul dubbed "Equity 3.0". The move was to give Equity Bank the opportunity to continue its mission of furthering financial inclusion and innovative service offerings for all Kenyans by presenting their financial services offering on to a single platform which will make banking services more accessible, flexible convenient and more affordable. Airtel Kenya on their part stated that the partnership would increase their revenue by up to 10%.{{Cite web|url=http://africa.airtel.com/wps/wcm/connect/africarevamp/kenya/home/about/media-room/press-releases/may-26-2014|title=Airtel Kenya|website=africa.airtel.com|access-date=2017-08-23}}

The brand made Equity Bank the first financial institution in Africa to offer a full banking suite through an MVNO.

Equity Bank, through its subsidiary Finserve Africa Limited, received its MVNO Licence on 11 April 2014, along with Tangaza Money and Zioncell Kenya. All which would run on Airtel Kenya's network, a move that was opposed by the Consumer Federation of Kenya, Safaricom and Telkom Kenya{{Cite news|title=Equity gets special window to enter mobile telecoms market|language=en-UK|work=Business Daily|url=http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Equity-gets-special-window-to-enter-mobile-telecoms-market/-/539550/2275070/-/item/1/-/14mdr65/-/index.html|url-status=dead|access-date=2017-08-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823162012/https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/corporate-news/Equity-gets-special-window-to-enter-mobile-telecoms-market/-/539550/2275070/-/item/1/-/14mdr65/-/index.html|archive-date=2017-08-23}}

For the bank, the move was aimed at lowering their transaction costs by up to 47% as well as an added revenue stream by providing money transfer and other telco services to their 14.3 million customers.{{Cite news|url=http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Equity-seeks-to-halve-transaction-costs-/-/539552/2297954/-/aob3fn/-/index.html|title=Equity seeks to halve transaction costs with mobile licence|work=Business Daily|access-date=2017-08-23|language=en-UK}}

Due to the requirement to have a SIM card to access the service, users would therefore need an additional mobile phone or Dual SIM phone. Equity Bank overcame this challenge by adopting the use of 0.1 millimetres thick ultra-slim SIM cards from Taisys Solutions, using technology originally developed in China.{{Cite web |url=http://mondato.com/blog/skin-sim-safari/ |title=Skin SIM Technology: A Serious Challenge for Safaricom |access-date=5 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006115623/http://mondato.com/blog/skin-sim-safari/ |archive-date=6 October 2014 |url-status=dead }} The ultra-slim SIM cards are placed at the back of normal SIM cards therefore tackling this challenge effectively.{{Cite news|url=http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Equity-to-issue-mobile-money-customers-with-special-SIM-cards/-/539550/2329906/-/f6qtws/-/index.html|title=Equity Bank goes for special SIM cards for its mobile money|work=Business Daily|access-date=2017-08-23|language=en-UK}} This ultra-slim SIM cards would also come with Near Field Communication (NFC) capability that enables them to be swiped on the point of sale devices or ATM{{Cite news|url=http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Equity-Bank-customers-to-use-phones-for-ATM-withdrawal/-/539550/2403280/-/xaam9dz/-/index.html|title=Equity to enable phone use in ATM withdrawal|work=Business Daily|access-date=2018-08-13|language=en-UK}} thus converting a mobile phone into a credit or debit card.

Market leader Safaricom wrote to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) challenging the use of ultra-slim SIM cards stating that they could expose their subscribers to intercepted communication and financial fraud on M-Pesa service.{{Cite news|url=http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/SIM-card-makers-to-offer-expert-advice-on-Equity-Safaricom-case-/-/539550/2369974/-/item/1/-/mpsr5d/-/index.html|title=SIM card makers to offer expert advice on Equity case|work=Business Daily|access-date=2018-08-13|language=en-UK}} Despite this, Finserve Africa were granted a one-year trial period through the 0763xxxxxx prefix.{{Cite web|url=http://equitybankgroup.com/index.php/investor-relations/financial-results|title=Equity Bank Group• Financial Results|website=equitybankgroup.com|language=en|access-date=2017-08-23}}

On 22 September 2014, Safaricom stated that it would review its legal commitments to M-Pesa customers who opt to use the Equitel overlay SIM cards.{{Cite news|url=http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Safaricom-sounds-warning-to-users-of-Equity-s-thin-SIM/-/539550/2462110/-/cqwoby/-/index.html|title=Safaricom warns users of Equity's SIM of legal risk|work=Business Daily|access-date=2017-08-23|language=en-UK}} In addition, the CCK required Finserve Africa to make a written undertaking to compensate mobile phone subscribers for any losses they may incur during the one-year trial of its thin SIM, putting to test the company’s assertion that the technology is safe.

On 14 October 2014, Equity Bank Kenya started issuing ordinary SIM cards for telecommunication and mobile banking services to its 8.7 million customers across the country.

In August 2018, Equity Group spun off its fintech arm into Finserve Africa Limited, a fully-owned subsidiary with its own board and management, headed by Jack Ngare.

As of December 2018, data from the Communications Authority of Kenya showed that Equitel was the second-biggest mobile-money transfer service in Kenya with over 2.075 million subscribers. During this period, they transacted a total of Ksh467.2 billion ($4.25 billion). This value was 22.04% of Kenya’s mobile money transactions. {{cite web |title="Second Quarter Sector Statistics Report for the Financial Year 2018/2019 |url=https://ca.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Sector-Statistics-Report-Q2-2018-19.pdf |publisher=Communications Authority of Kenya |access-date=30 August 2021}}

During 2020, the MVNO Equitel handled Ksh934 billion (approx $8.51 billion) in transaction value but the customer base had reduced to 1.8 million. As at March 2021, Equity Group’s Quarterly report showed Equitel registered a 163% volume growth of Ksh421.8 billion ($3.84 billion) from Ksh160.5 billion ($1.46 billion). {{cite web |title="Integrated Report & Financial Statements |url=https://equitygroupholdings.com/investor-relations/#images-14 |publisher=Equity Group Holdings Limited |access-date=30 August 2021}}

On 12 August 2021, Equity announced the roll out of its LTE or fourth-generation (4G) broadband network service for Equitel SIM cards becoming the fifth telco in Kenya to offer 4G services.{{cite web |title=Equity rolls out 4G SIM card |url=https://equitel.com/equitel-blogs/equitel-rolls-out-4g-sim-card/ |publisher=Equity Group Holdings Limited |access-date=30 August 2021}}

Equity Group Holdings plans to roll out their mobile virtual network in Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda through their partnership with Airtel Africa.

Equity Group Holdings is a largest financial services group in East Africa. As of June 2021, the group had an asset base valued at over US$10.2 billion (KES1.119 trillion), with a total customer base in excess of 14 million, in the region the group serves.{{cite web|title=Equity Group In 20 Percent Profit Rise to Sh3.8 Billion| url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201404171408.html|publisher=Capital FM Online (Nairobi) via AllAfrica.com|first=Kennedy|last=Kangethe|date=17 April 2014 |access-date=17 April 2014}} The companies that comprise the Equity Bank Group include the following:{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/finance/?hl=en&expIds=17259,26637,26992,27060,27095,27177&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&cp=7&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=we|title=equity bank - Google Finance Search|website=www.google.com|access-date=2017-08-23}}

• Equity Bank Kenya Limited – Nairobi, Kenya {{flagicon|Kenya}}
• Equity Bank Rwanda Limited – Kigali, Rwanda {{flagicon|Rwanda}}
• Equity Bank South Sudan Limited – Juba, South Sudan {{flagicon|South Sudan}}
• Equity Bank Tanzania Limited – Dar es Salaam, Tanzania {{flagicon|Tanzania}}
• Equity Bank Uganda Limited – Kampala, Uganda {{flagicon|Uganda}}
• Equity Banque Commerciale du Congo – Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo {{flagicon|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
• Equity Consulting Group Limited – Nairobi, Kenya {{flagicon|Kenya}}
• Equity Insurance Agency Limited – Nairobi, Kenya {{flagicon|Kenya}}
• Equity Nominees Limited – Nairobi, Kenya {{flagicon|Kenya}}
• Equity Investment Services Limited – Nairobi, Kenya {{flagicon| Kenya}}
• Finserve Africa Limited – Nairobi, Kenya {{flagicon|Kenya}}

Shares of the stock of Equity Group Holdings Limited, the parent company of Finserve Africa Limited, are listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE), under the symbol EQTY. The Group's stock is also cross-listed on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE), under the symbol EBL.

• Equity Group Holdings
• Equity Bank Kenya
• Equity Bank Rwanda
• Equity Bank South Sudan
• Equity Bank Tanzania
• Equity Bank Uganda

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{{Equity Group Holdings Limited |state=collapsed}}

Category:Mobile virtual network operators

Category:Telecommunications companies established in 2014

Category:Telecommunications companies of Kenya

Category:Kenyan companies established in 2014