In Fintech, neither PRICE nor TECH is the differentiating factor, it's SERVICE that is.
Wave has understood this from the start.
If you don't know what Wave is, you haven't used Orange Money lately.
They are the reason why Orange Money Senegal has restructured its pricing more than once in a single year to stay relevant.
They are the reason why Orange Money Senegal has restructured its pricing more than once in a single year to stay relevant.
I think it's safe to say that the penguin-logoed startup's customer service efficiency is one of the main drivers of its success (coupled with a great product, of course).
As technology evolves, the technology part of Fintech will become more and more standardized and accessible to everyone. Fintech players will gain an advantage through unique and useful experiences rather than fancy features.
I remember a Twitter thread from Ben Kuhn, Wave's CTO, saying that ~50% of Wave's headcount is customer support.
That's impressive and uncommon, even by global standards, and shows their dedication to serving their users.
It takes unwavering dedication to make an impact on users' daily lives, and that's much easier said than done. This also shows that they have made a big investment in customer support, which is not common around here, to say the least.
Customer support is often considered a second-tier priority by many brands, but in a market like Africa, it's crucial to get it right and pass the user consistency test.
As a Wave customer, I can attest that every time I've had an issue with a transaction, it was resolved during the call, not a day later, not a week later, it was resolved during the call.
I'm still waiting to see other brands offer me the same quality of support.
This type of effort wins the hearts of users, and in a market like ours, known to be fickle, it's a game-changer.
Capturing market share in Fintech on African soil is more of an abstract wish than an achievable reality, the truth is that the fight between brands is all about owning a larger share of service
So, as you might guess, whoever provides the best service wins, and this has been the case with Wave so far.
In the fight for fintech market dominance, each of the two main players is using their advantage. For the incumbent Orange Money, it is distribution as well as brand and for the startup Wave, it is innovation.
Wave's innovation (from my POV) lies in its ability to build a massive and efficient customer support system that is able to solve its users' problems at any time.
At the end of the day, as an African financial services consumer, I have apps from all brands on my phone and I choose the one that provides the most seamless experience and helps me whenever I need it, in an instant.
The blue wave has disrupted the fintech scene so far, but it's just a drop in the bucket of a larger change to come.
It will also drive a new dynamic on how we approach customer service in our countries.
It's only a matter of time.