As ATMs remain the “king” of channels in banking, telecommunication sector across Africa have found a large market among the unbanked for mobile payment, as P2P transfers and other mobile payment services have received tremendous patronage all over Africa. Point of Sale has also become more prominent on the scale of channels as telecom services like GPRS and SIM are becoming more available and stable.

As Africa is now experiencing what we call the “war of the channels”, banks, other financial institutions, manufacturers and customers need to understand the relevance of each channel in the context of Africa.

More importantly, banks and other financial institutions that are buying and deploying these terminals must also understand the global and domestic trends in customer’s expectation with respect to channels, new technologies across all channels, deployment issues, ROI and profitability indices etc.

The theme for CardExpo Africa 2009 is therefore “e-payment in a Global Recession”.

The focus on Channel Strategy in the face of new technologies and new markets lies the "unbanked" have become even more pertinent in a period of economic recession, where cost of deployment is of great importance to acquirers and pricing is critical to the consumer.

The objective of this conference and exhibition is to call the attention of Africa and the global industry to the emerging development and requirements in the market. We still need to address the slow growth of card penetration. Pundits say that growing the right e-channels for the right market segments is the catalyst that will cause massive explosion in card issuance and usage.

Therefore CardExpo Africa 2009 will highlight all the real, relevant and unique issues with a view to developing a blue print for a clear pathway on cards and channels in Africa. Thus the theme “e-Channel strategy: e-payment in a Global Recession”.

CardExpo Africa 2009 is expected to attract about 3,000 visitors for the 3-day event. To this end, the event is guaranteed to create mileage for sponsors and exhibitors who are sure to increase their brand value by associating with this event.