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Paul Miller of Sika App; Taking online payment to the next step

Today, local techpreneurs have stepped to fill the void after foreign giants like paypal and mastercard left Ghana in the cold. DreamOval's SlydePay which was formerly I wallet, Express Pay, Mpower, and others have made online payments possible.

 

The internet's  immense ability to transmit real time information  presesnts diverse opportunities  in terms of value transfer.

Today people are able to buy almost anything from  houses  to cars over the Internet, and pay for it. This was not possible some three or four years ago.

Though the Internet was as vibrant and reliable as it is today,  there was no way to  monetize value transfer. There was no adequate payment system. The internet was not a money making tool.

Today, local techpreneurs have stepped up to fill the void after foreign giants like Paypal and Mastercard left Ghana in the cold. DreamOval's SlydePay which was formerly I wallet, Express Pay, Mpower, and others have made online payments possible.

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One of such innovators  who has taken this to the next level, is Ghanaian born American- based techpreneur Paul Miller.

Paul was asked by  a friend in the U.S who is now his co- founder  to send some cash to her mom. On his way to deliver the money upon arriving in Ghana, Paul though that there ought to be a simpler way for Ghanaians living abroad and foreigners in general to remit money to relatives in Ghana in a more convenient way and not encountering the difficulties posed by traditional money transfer systems.

That was how Sika App was born.

" So on my drive to Tema to deliver the money to my friend's mom, I wondered if there could be a more convenient way to send money without either party having to leave the comfort of their homes or offices, or inconveniencing anybody. That was how Sika App was born."

So this will give people the chance to send money across borders in the comfort of their homes, that is what the power of the Internet can give.

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On the face of it, Sika App may not look like the life saver it is in practical terms,

" Transferring money to relatives or others can be a matter of life and death. Imagine a relative who is sick and bed- ridden and cannot go out to claim a transferred fund. This becomes a life and death issue. That relative should be able to get that transfer in the comfort of their homes and even go on to get whatever medications they need online", Paul says.

Ghana's online payment industry is seeing an increased amount of activity lately, and Sika App, after it is launched,  will help push the frontiers further. However, critics believe that the existing bottle- necks will hinder Ghana's progress in becoming a truly cash- lite economy.

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