'Airtel Money Market' Launched

To add value to its mobile commerce product, Airtel Ghana has launched an online store for the marketing and sale of goods.

The new online portal, ( www.airtelmoneymarket.com http://www.airtelmoneymarket.com/ ), will allow Ghanaians to use social interactions and contributions from trusted individuals to buy online goods.

It also enables merchants to have multiple outlets in addition to opening a virtual store and stocking it with goods for sale.

The product, which runs on Rancard's Rendezvous technology, will provide customers, who visit the portal with the opportunity to window shop as well as compare prices from different merchants from the comfort of their homes or offices.

Speaking at the ceremony in Accra, Philip Sowah, Managing Director of Airtel Ghana, said the addition of the online store to the company's mobile commence product is in line with the company's quest to introduce innovative products, which customers will find beneficial to their daily lives.

'The Airtel money market is just another addition to the many other packages we have added since the launch of Airtel Money,' he said.

Kola Sonola, Director for M-Commence at Airtel Ghana, explaining how Airtel money works, said the process involves purchasing through recommendations on a regular social commence website.

'When a user checks out of the virtual store after making all their purchases, they receive an SMS message asking for a confirmation of the order and payment of amount.

'Once the user selects send, the money is transferred to the retail vendor, and the user receives another text message with a purchase code.

He said the purchase code will then be used to pick their order from the merchant.

Managing Director of Rancard, Kofi Dadzie said the Airtel Money Market provides a burgeoning market that could be energized to create high demand in online shopping through social recommendations.

  By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri