Opera integrates web payment platform in Kenya. (Image Source:
Opera, the Norwegian developer of Opera Mini, has integrated a new web payment platform in Kenya which directly runs on the Opera Mini browser. This is part of the Opera’s $100 million investment initiative to grow the African digital economy announced earlier this year.
OPay will enable Opera Mini as well as other mobile browser users to top up their Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom mobile phone accounts, pay electricity, cable TV and utility bills directly through its platform. It will also accommodate multiple payment methods, such as credit cards to Airtel Money and M-Pesa.
Users who make their first deposit to their Wallet will get a 100 percent bonus of up to 200 Ksh. They can use this bonus to pay for services or recharge airtime on the portal.
In addition, for every airtime purchase the user makes, they will receive 20 percent cashback in the form of credits in their Wallet. These credits are the same as the ones earned from depositing money in the Wallet and can be used to pay for services or recharge airtime.
Growing businesses in the digital age, particularly in Africa’s critically important informal sector (which accounts for as much as 60 percent of the total GDP in some African states), require payment functions that help people get around the continent’s many gaping holes in service delivery and infrastructure.
“This mobile payment technology integrated into the Opera Mini browser will help Kenya continue the highest rate of mobile payment technology adoption in the world. More than 80 percent of the country’s population with access to a cell phone use it to pay for goods and services,” says Nuno Sitima, Executive Vice President of Payments and Fintech, Opera Software AS. “However, the challenges of long distances, difficult terrain and large rural populations who often lack access to formal banking systems are all addressed with OPay and the reach of the Opera Mini browser. Our ultimate goal is to fuel the growth of African businesses through a simple, affordable solution that can encompass many payment methods in one easy-to-use app.”
Edited by Fundisiwe Maseko
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