Senegal Bank's Smart Terminal Boosts Merchant Sales 50%

When merchants in Senegal told their bank that waiting days for mobile payment deposits was killing their cash flow, the bank actually listened and built something revolutionary.

BSIC Sénégal launched SMART TPE in November 2023, an electronic payment terminal that does something no other device in Africa could do. It lets customers choose at checkout whether to pay with their bank card or mobile money apps like Orange Money and Wave.

Here's why that matters. In West Africa, most people use mobile money instead of bank cards. But merchants accepting mobile payments often wait days to actually receive their funds from the phone companies. SMART TPE changes that by depositing all payments directly into the merchant's bank account the same day, whether customers paid by card or phone.

The terminal displays a QR code when customers select mobile payment, they scan it with their phone, and the transaction completes instantly. No more choosing between serving customers who only have mobile money and getting paid quickly.

Early results show the impact is real. Pilot merchants saw sales increase between 30% and 50% simply by accepting more payment types. They also pay lower transaction fees than going through mobile operators directly.

BSIC Sénégal created the technology by bringing together teams that rarely collaborate: marketing, IT, risk management, legal, and fintech partners. They tested with select merchants first, refined the system based on real feedback, then expanded.

The Ripple Effect

The innovation is already spreading beyond Senegal's borders. BSIC Sénégal serves as the testing ground for its parent company, a pan-African bank owned by 14 nations across the Sahel and Sahara regions. Solutions that work in Dakar's competitive market get rolled out to bank branches serving over 50,000 clients across West and Central Africa.

The bank focused on Senegal specifically because of its strong mobile money adoption and entrepreneurial culture. What they learned there about combining digital payments with traditional banking now informs strategies for financial inclusion across countries from Libya to Ghana.

For small business owners across Africa who've been forced to choose between convenience for customers and quick access to their own money, that choice is finally disappearing.