Decode Fintech

As a fintech company, you work hard to ensure that nothing goes wrong. But when things do go wrong, like they inevitably will, how you handle the situation can make the difference between a customer who churns, and a passionate ambassador for life. In this episode, we speak with Francis Appiah, the Operations Manager at expressPay. Francis speaks about hiring great support teams, and how a diverse support team leverages past experiences, skills and relationships to go above and beyond when solving customer problems. He also discusses how to balance providing great customer service to even the most difficult customers, while protecting team welfare. IN THIS EPISODE WE TALK ABOUT 2:38 — How the customer support team is set up at expressPay 3:53 — What skills should an excellent support team member possess? 8:11 — How expressPay's customer support team measures success 9:24 — [Paystack Product Alert] Introducing Paystack Transfers paystack.com [https://paystack.com/fintech] 10:43 — Why cross-functional teams result in better customer outcomes 11:41 — Values to watch out for when hiring for customer service roles 13:29 — What an obsession with customer happiness looks like at expressPay 16:35 — How expressPay handles acutely difficult customers LINKS * Connect with Francis on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/francis-appiah-a07a4a/] * Check out expressPay [https://expresspaygh.com/] FOLLOW US The Decode Fintech newsletter is a weekly email summary of the most important news in African fintech. Subscribe to receive original commentary and curated stories, as well as the latest episode of the podcast. * Subscribe to the Decode Fintech Newsletter [https://decodefintech.com/] * Follow Decode Fintech on Twitter [https://twitter.com/DecodeFintechHQ] DECODE FINTECH IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAYSTACK Paystack helps Africa's most successful fintechs build and scale popular financial service products with the industry's best-documented APIs. Please visitpaystack.com/fintech [http://paystack.com/fintech]to find out more.

Customer service goes beyond just answering emails and phone calls. When managed correctly, every interaction with customers can generate key insights that help grow your business. In this episode, Steve Amaza, a Customer Success Manager for User Operations at Paystack, speaks about how Paystack uses customer service data to improve the product, the tooling that the team uses to keep up even as the company scales, and the value of empathy and a problem-solving mindset in building a world-class customer support team. IN THIS EPISODE WE TALK ABOUT 0:00 — Introduction 2:08 — Using customer service data to improve the product 4:12 — Key metrics for support teams 5:03 — How to handle acutely unhappy customers 6:47 — Using documentation to scale support 9:06 — [Paystack Merchant Alert] Introducing Bento paystack.com/bento [https://www.bento.africa/] 10:17 — Why solving the problem matters more than simply giving a response 11:40 — Deep empathy as a customer service superpower 13:38 — Episode recap LINKS * Connect with Steve Amaza on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveamaza/] FOLLOW US The Decode Fintech newsletter is a weekly email summary of the most important news in African fintech. Subscribe to receive original commentary and curated stories, as well as the latest episode of the podcast. * Subscribe to the Decode Fintech Newsletter [https://decodefintech.com/] * Follow Decode Fintech on Twitter [https://twitter.com/DecodeFintechHQ] DECODE FINTECH IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAYSTACK Paystack helps Africa's most successful fintechs build and scale popular financial service products with the industry's best-documented APIs. Please visitpaystack.com/fintech [http://paystack.com/fintech]to find out more.

What should you know before expanding your Africa-based fintech to more countries? In this episode, we explore the art and science of launching financial service products beyond your home country, covering everything from how to choose which countries to expand into, to how to hire in different markets, and what to watch out for when incorporating the business. Our guides through this topic are experienced operators with long experience in expansion: Wiza Jakalasi (Chipper Cash), Marcello Schermer (Yoco), Adia Sowho (ex-Migo), and Maria Rotilu (ex-Branch). IN THIS EPISODE WE TALK ABOUT 0:00 — Introduction 2:25 — Why businesses expand into new countries 3:35 — Expanding for growth 4:00 — The importance of timing 4:52 — How to pick your next country 7:03 — Prioritizing business drivers 9:49 — The impact of regulation 14:58 — [Paystack Product Alert] Introducing Paystack's verification service paystack.com/verify [http://paystack.com/verify] 15:57 — Midway recap 16:34 — Navigating incorporation 20:02 — The role of relationships 21:55 — How to think about hiring 23:53 — The best part of expansion LINKS * Connect with Wiza Jakalasi on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/wizaj/] * Check out Africa’s Talking [https://africastalking.com/] and Chipper Cash [https://chippercash.com/] * Connect with Marcello Schermer on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcelloschermer/] * Check out Yoco [https://www.yoco.co.za/za/] * Connect with Adia Sowho on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/adiasowho/?originalSubdomain=ng] * Check out Migo [https://www.migo.money/en-ng/] * Connect with Maria Rotilu on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariakeshinro/] * Check out Branch International [https://branch.com.ng/] * Check out the Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions [https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries/] * Learn more about Delaware C-Corps [https://www.delawareinc.com/what-is-a-c-corporation/] * Check out the Mauritius Double Taxation Agreement [https://www.mra.mu/index.php/taxes-duties/international-taxation/double-taxation-agreements] FOLLOW US The Decode Fintech newsletter is a weekly email summary of the most important news in African fintech. Subscribe to receive original commentary and curated stories, as well as the latest episode of the podcast. * Subscribe to the Decode Fintech Newsletter [https://decodefintech.com/] * Follow Decode Fintech on Twitter [https://twitter.com/DecodeFintechHQ] DECODE FINTECH IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAYSTACK Paystack helps Africa's most successful fintechs build and scale popular financial service products with the industry's best-documented APIs. Please visitpaystack.com/fintech [http://paystack.com/fintech]to find out more.

Ghana initially lagged behind other African countries when it came to mobile money adoption, but fast forward to 2020, and Ghana is now the fastest growing mobile money market in Africa. How did the country pull this off? In this episode, we go deep into the origins of mobile money in Ghana, its early challenges, and how numerous organizations successfully came together to take this technology mainstream. Among the many guests who help break it down for us are Archie Hesse, CEO of Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS), and Bruno Akpaka, the first General Manager of MTN Mobile Money in Ghana. Listen to learn how Ghana became one of the fastest growing mobile money markets in Africa. IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT 0:00 — Introduction 02:00 — Mobile Money 101 - A timeline of Ghana's journey 03:37 — Enter GhIPSS - controller of the spaghetti junction 06:44 — The Bank of Ghana and GhIPSS' first attempts at improving financial inclusion 11:24 — The rise and fall of bank-led branchless banking 13:30 — The rise of MTN Mobile Money 19:01 — [Paystack Product Alert] Introducing Paystack Transfers paystack.com [https://paystack.com/fintech] 20:03 — The early days of MTN Mobile Money in Ghana 23:42 — The first iteration of mobile money in Ghana 25:42 — Improving financial inclusion through mobile money interoperability and agent distribution 29:06 — The role of mobile money in Ghana's financial system LINKS * Connect with Kwami Williams on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kwami-williams-ba336a72/] * Check out Kwami's companies Moringa Connect [http://moringaconnect.com/] and Thrive Together [https://thrivetogether.store/] * Connect with Archie Hesse on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/archie-hesse-408350148/] * Learn more about GhIPSS [https://ghipss.net/index.php] * Connect with Bruno Akpaka on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruno-akpaka-1015084/] * Learn more about MTN Mobile Money [https://mtn.com.gh/momo/] * Connect with Nana Ama Yankah on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nayankah/] * Check Nana Ama's company NAYA by Africa [https://www.nayabyafrica.com/] * Check out CGAP: Consultative Group to Assist the Poor [https://www.cgap.org/] * Learn more about the Bank of Ghana [https://www.bog.gov.gh/] FOLLOW US The Decode Fintech newsletter is a weekly email summary of the most important news in African fintech. Subscribe to receive original commentary and curated stories, as well as the latest episode of the podcast. * Subscribe to the Decode Fintech Newsletter [https://decodefintech.com/] * Follow Decode Fintech on Twitter [https://twitter.com/DecodeFintechHQ] DECODE FINTECH IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAYSTACK Paystack helps Africa's most successful fintechs build and scale popular financial service products with the industry's best-documented APIs. Please visitpaystack.com/fintech [http://paystack.com/fintech]to find out more.

Financial technology in Africa is changing at an accelerating rate, and with it, the very nature of business on the continent. To understand what’s actually happening on the ground, you need to hear from the teams in the field. The Decode Fintech Podcast takes you directly to the operators on the frontlines. As one of the largest payments companies in Africa, the Paystack team is constantly speaking to teams doing amazing work all over the continent. The Decode Fintech Podcast allows us to hit "record" and share what we're learning! In this season, we switched things up and made a quick trip around the continent, discussing everything from the history of mobile money in Ghana, to best practices for international expansion, to the future of cryptocurrencies on the continent. Thank you for listening! Subscribe to the Decode Fintech email newsletter at decodefintech.com [https://decodefintech.com/]