“Keeping up with the digital payments revolution is one of the biggest challenges facing financial institutions today, especially in Africa.”

These are the words of Nicolas Revol, Head of Payment Solutions for International Retail Banking, at Société Générale, who was commenting on the announcement that the bank has selected HPS to develop its payment operations in Africa.

Africa is a key market in Société Générale’s growth strategy. Operating in 19 African countries, the bank has a unique position in the region, which allows it to offer its clients the expertise and know-how of an international bank and the proximity of a local bank. In Africa, the Group supports local economies and serves 4.1 million customers, including 150,000 businesses.

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Société Générale will be using HPS’ PowerCARD software suite on an as-a-service basis to manage their entire payment chain. Société Générale also wants to utilise HPS software to enable it to launch electronic payment products on the market quickly and efficiently, reduce transaction costs and mitigate operating risks.

The partnership also aims to converge the banking universe with the mobile operators’ one with the objective of making transactions faster.

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“HPS has been involved in implementing many pan-African payment hub platforms,” added Revol. “Their expertise on payment solutions and their African footprint will be essential to support Société Générale in its innovation and growth dynamics in Africa.”

Samir Khallouqui, Managing Director – HPS Processing, said: “Financial institutions and companies across the world are looking for end-to-end payment processing platforms that allow them to create new innovative payment services/products, especially in emerging markets, such as Africa, where the payments ecosystem is becoming more and more digitised. By selecting the HPS Processing Platform, Société Générale will be able to offer innovative payment services to their customers, and we’re delighted to be supporting them on this journey.”