The mobile money service of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Firstmonie and a key player in Africa’s mobile money ecosystem, Mobile Media Info Tech (MMIT) say they have partnered with BlackBerry in Nigeria to enable social commerce in BBM, the popular private social network.
The partnership will allow BBM users to subscribe for BBM content using Firstmonie under a collaboration that First Bank hopes will enable Nigerians access and pay for digital content available on BBM shop using their Firstmonie mobile wallet.
BlackBerry Social Commerce will let user easily browse and download stickers that will bring some more fun to BBM chats. Most of the content has been localized allowing users to express themselves in local lingo. Now BBM users can say “How you dey?” and much more in a fun “Naija way” to brighten up their chat, according its promoters.
BBM users in Nigeria will be able to personalize and enhance their chat experiences, as part of the offering says Chuma Ezirim, Head, Cards and Physical Channels at First Bank.
First Bank says the new service evolves technologies to bring fast and convenient financial services closer to the unbanked and under-banked Nigerians, “a move that clearly aligns with the CBN Financial inclusion initiative.”
“By enabling people to use their mobile phones as a tool for carrying out financial transactions and accessing digital content, FirstBank is delivering long-term benefits for both our customers and the Nigerian economy as we continue to put our customers first,” he further explained.
On his own part,Jide Akindele, Founder of MMIT, says “today, we are breaking new grounds by extending our mobile payments capabilities into BBM, which is the social network where Nigerians spend most of their time.”
“This is just the start. Our merchants, who are increasingly advertising on BBM to reach their customers, will also be able to leverage our collaboration with BlackBerry to convert these advertisements into e-commerce sales”, Akindele adds.
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