Microfinance group CGAP established a partnership with South Africa's Wizzit Bank in a move to trial mobile banking services in the smallest towns and communities of the country. The program is targeting the major wholesalers serving more than 500 microentrepreneurs, who run small 'spaza' shops, in the township of Motherwell, where three in five people are unbanked.

Wizzit Bank is a South African subsidiary of Bank of Athens. Its target audience is unbanked population which is offered accounts that lets customers use their mobile phones to make person-to-person payments, transfers and pre-paid purchases. Besides, account holders are also provided a pre-paid Maestro card.

Apart from this pilot trial another program was also introduced to allow customers to open accounts and shop at preferred pricing with clothing retailer Dunns'. In case the program turns successful it will be extended to other 289 stores nationwide. In order to push the sales the program will encourage customers to use their Maestro debit cards instead of cash for some incentives.