VICTORIA, Seychelles — Nebula FinTech Limited has officially launched its new online payment platform, dubbed eboo, through the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store. The eboo app is a digital wallet that allows users to make online payments and manage their finances directly from their smartphones or other devices. The app went live earlier in the week, and the company reports that only a few minor tweaks and fine-tuning remain before the formal rollout is complete.
The official launch ceremony took place on Tuesday afternoon at the Savoy Resort and Spa, with Vice President Ahmed Afif among the guests. The Vice President’s presence signalled the government’s interest in digital financial inclusion and in the development of local fintech capacity. The launch also drew senior figures from the local banking sector and from the regulator, all of whom are understood to have been monitoring the development of the app over recent months.
There are currently two versions of the app. The first, eboo Seychelles, is geared towards the individual and functions as a personal digital wallet. The second, eboo Business Seychelles, is geared towards merchants and businesses, and provides a way for shops and service providers to accept digital payments from customers. Chief technology officer Nicholas Cétoupe said the current version had undergone internal testing since early January, and that the company wanted to polish it before the public used it.
Speaking at the launch, Mr Cétoupe added that the team had focused on making the app simple to use, with a particular emphasis on the merchant onboarding process. The business version is designed to allow small shops, market vendors and informal traders to accept digital payments without the need for expensive point-of-sale hardware. The individual version is designed to make peer-to-peer transfers and online purchases quicker than existing alternatives.
Nebula FinTech Limited is one of a small number of locally incorporated fintech companies that have launched payment products in Seychelles in recent years. The wider trend in the country has been towards a more cashless economy, with the central bank and the regulator both having signalled their support for the development of secure digital payment systems. The launch of eboo comes in the same week as several other digital finance initiatives across the region, and the company will be hoping that the timing helps to drive early adoption among Seychellois consumers.
