Between 1947 and 1962, the world was divided into two rival camps differing in ideologies. This rivalry between the United States and its allies versus Russia and her allies put the world on the brink of a nuclear war. It was the cold war.
Presently, we are experiencing the similar type of war. The Telecommunications and Banking sector have positioned their artillery and ammunition in place. Battle lines have been drawn. This conflict in the business sector is what we are referring to as ‘The Neo Cold War’.
It was all seventh heaven for the banking sector as they enjoyed untold prestige in Malawi, being the sole players in the money business dating from the 1960s. However, they would relive to cherish those prosperous moments as later in 2012, the telecoms industry landed the first blow.
The introduction of money transactional mediums by local telecom giants meant that the customer base the banks controlled would no longer be the same. To worsen matters, these new services would be operated in any location in the country, hilly or flat, peaceful or in-conflict, terrestrial or aquatic. They infiltrated even areas away from centres of civilization, bringing efficiency, convenience and speed with them. An enemy was in town and this enemy was here to stay.
Fast forward to 2019, one of the country’s leading banks are introducing the Agent System, the same system their adversaries used 7 years ago to bombard them. Whether you will call it retaliation or a counter-attack, that is something to deliberate on over a bottle of local thobwa enjoying massive sales in the busy streets of Limbe.
One thing is for sure, the banking and telecoms sector are on collision course. But should we be worried? Should we be prepared for the ‘danger’ that is looming? Should we go and settle in safer areas of higher ground? Borrowing the words of the great Oliver ‘Tuku’ Mtukudzi in one of his hit songs, I humbly ask ‘…what shall we do’?
We should not liken the Neo Cold War to that period that was characterized by events at the bay of the pigs, the Vietnam war, the Angolan civil wars or the division of one country into two by the 38th parallel. Perhaps if we are too insistent on doing such, we should in the least, compare it to the space rivalry between the two world superpowers.
Taking into account problems that are still visible despite the money transaction system being offered by many players lately, it clearly brings us to a conclusion that more services by either banks or the telecoms industry will only mean customers will have a wide range of choices as far as such services are concerned. The eleven lines think so.
For whatever these sides are scrambling on, one thing that should come into consideration is the welfare of customers. Are customers being served in a timely manner? Are the services being efficient? This is what every CEO in this industry should think of while they are seated on the comfortable home couch at night, gobbling that full chicken fast into inexistence.
The eleven lines believe it can only be profitable for the two sectors to work together. In Spain for instance, a subsidiary of Telefonica Moviles, the cellular unit of Spanish telecom Telefonica SA and Spain’s largest bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA commonly known as BBVA are working on a wireless payment system. Mannesmann, a German subsidiary of UK’s Vodafone Group PLC, has a joint venture with deutsche bank. Similarly, Telecom Italia has partnered with Banco di Roma. With respect to a few understandings that have been formed between the telecoms and banking companies in Malawi, the eleven lines firmly believes there is more room to exhaust. It is only then that this can be the only war ever that has been profitable to man.
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