Bloc integrates API with MTN to improve bills payment for customers

BY CHARLES ABUEDE

Financial technology is seen as the new oil as is easily becoming clear in the imminent changes and evolution within the space since the introduction of mobile telecoms service into Nigeria over 20 years ago in what has birthed several innovations and collaborations. It is to this that the glory of the fintech space is glowing well beyond the initial expectations of 10 to 20 years ago.

Now, Bloc, the fintech infrastructure company formerly known as TechAdvance, after it completed the acquisition of a Class Licence from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) via its subsidiary, Ace Remittance, says it has completed the direct integration of its Bills Payment API with telecom giant, MTN Nigeria.

Since it commenced business, Bloc, which provides technology, compliance and capital to both fintech and non-fintech companies that want to offer financial services, has been a part of the Nigerian bills payment industry currently processing over one billion in monthly transactions.

The collaborative efforts between telecoms services providers and API builders within the tech space have brought significantly more opportunities to Nigerians than was ever imagined and aided by the enabling regulatory environment made conducive by the NCC. This positive result has produced the positives in the narratives providing the reason for MTN’s recent nod from the Central Bank of Nigeria to carry out its mobile money agency business as a subsidiary.

Significantly, the company in a post per Medium on Tuesday said the partnership was made possible with the acquisition of a Class Licence issued by the NCC. The integration, it added, will allow for firms who offer MTN Nigeria products via its Bills Payment API to do so at cheaper prices.

According to Bloc, “Today, in our promise to help companies build & launch FinTech products faster, we are happy to announce that we (Bloc) have completed the direct integration of our Bills Payment API with MTN. This was made possible with the acquisition of a Class Licence issued by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) — via our subsidiary, Ace Remittance. This integration allows companies and organisations who offer MTN products via our Bills Payment API to do so at cheaper prices.

“With our Bills Payment API, you can sell airtime/data from all telecom providers, electricity from all national discos and cable TV to your customers. More importantly, you no longer have to worry about owning or maintaining the infrastructure needed to offer these services,” the company explained.

It noted that the partnership will take it one step closer to building a reliable, proprietary infrastructure where it removes the risks and hassle that comes with the existence of more than one wholesale provider in the value chain.

“Our mission is to offer new/existing companies (FinTechs and non-FinTechs) an exhaustive set of building blocks — infrastructure, compliance, capital — that allows them to increase their value to their stakeholders. We’ve further shown our commitment to this mission with our Value Added Service Licence issued by the NCC.

“Inspired by this partnership, we will continue our business development strategy to simplify FinTech integration to telecom and open up more possibilities for the glory of FinTech,” it concluded.