Standards/bankily
Bankily
Overview
Bankily is Mauritania's leading mobile-banking service, launched in early 2020 by Banque Populaire de Mauritanie (BPM) in partnership with Comviva (industry-leading MFS technology platform) [1, 2, [mr-cro]]. Bankily is structurally a state-of-the-art mobile-banking service combining QR-code payment + NFC contactless + Facebook-contacts integration + mobile-number-based transfer — a comprehensive feature set unusual for Mauritania's emerging-market context. By 2023, Bankily had grown into the leading mobile bank in Mauritania by users + transaction volume, with 470+ points of sale forming the brand's distribution network throughout the country.
The product's distinctive features include: payments at merchants by scanning QR Code or entering merchant code, diverse money-transfer methods (mobile number, Facebook contacts, NFC contactless, QR Code). The Facebook-contacts integration is structurally noteworthy — most peer mobile-money platforms use only phone-number addressing; Bankily extends to Facebook social-graph as alternative recipient-identification. Mauritania's broader payment landscape includes Mastercard + Visa international cards (limited domestic acceptance), Sedad (Mauritanian wallet competitor), and various bank-specific mobile apps.
History
Background — Mauritanian banking + mobile context MR:
- Banque Centrale de Mauritanie (BCM) — central bank.
- ~4.6M-population country with limited formal-banking penetration.
- Banque Populaire de Mauritanie (BPM) — major commercial bank.
Early 2020 — Bankily launches [1, 2]:
- BPM launches Bankily mobile-banking service.
- Built on Comviva platform (industry-leading MFS tech).
- Multi-channel: QR + NFC + mobile-number + Facebook contacts.
Growth (2020-2023) MR:
- Bankily becomes leading mobile bank in Mauritania by users and volume.
- 470+ points of sale.
Technical specification
Bankily is BPM's Comviva-powered mobile-banking service [1, 2]:
| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| Operator | Banque Populaire de Mauritanie (BPM) |
| Technology partner | Comviva (Tech Mahindra subsidiary, industry MFS platform) |
| Regulator | Banque Centrale de Mauritanie (BCM) |
| Currency | MRU (Mauritanian ouguiya) |
| Launch | Early 2020 |
| Channels | Mobile app (iOS + Android), 470+ points of sale |
| Identifier options | Mobile number, Facebook contacts, NFC contactless, QR code, merchant code |
| QR support | Scan QR or enter merchant code |
| NFC contactless | Yes |
| Facebook integration | Select recipient from Facebook contact list |
Multi-modal addressing [2]:
- Mobile number (typical mobile-money pattern).
- Facebook contacts (structurally distinctive).
- NFC contactless.
- QR code scanning.
470+ points of sale MR:
- Distribution network across Mauritania for cash-in/cash-out + merchant payments.
Use cases
P2P transfers [2]: Multiple addressing options (mobile / Facebook / NFC / QR).
Merchant QR payments [2]: Scan merchant QR or enter merchant code.
NFC contactless [2]: Tap-to-pay at NFC-enabled merchants.
Facebook-contact-based transfer [2]: Send to friend selected from Facebook list — distinctive.
Cash-in / cash-out at 470+ POS MR: Physical distribution network.
Bill payment [1]: Standard mobile-banking features.
Implementations & ecosystem
Operator: Banque Populaire de Mauritanie (BPM).
Technology platform: Comviva (Tech Mahindra subsidiary).
Regulator: Banque Centrale de Mauritanie (BCM).
Major Mauritanian competitor: Sedad (mobile wallet).
Fun facts
- Facebook-contact-based money transfer: Structurally distinctive feature — leverages social-graph as addressing layer. Few peer mobile-money platforms have this.
- Multi-modal addressing: Mobile + Facebook + NFC + QR + merchant-code — comprehensive identifier coverage.
- Comviva platform: Same industry-leading MFS tech as afrimoney and many other African mobile-money products.
- Leading mobile bank in Mauritania by 2023: Significant achievement for a 3-year-old (at time of measurement) product.
- 470+ points of sale: Substantial physical distribution for a 4.6M-population country.
- "Bankily" in Arabic = "Like a Bank" / "My Bank": Cultural-noun branding similar to bankak-qr Sudan ("Your Bank") and mahfathati Algeria ("My Wallet").
- Banque Populaire de Mauritanie's broader role: BPM is one of Mauritania's largest commercial banks; Bankily is its flagship digital product.
- Mauritania's Sahel context: Mauritania spans Sahara/Sahel boundary; mobile banking serves both urban Nouakchott + rural pastoralist populations.
Comparison
| Feature | Bankily (MR) | d17-qr (TN) | bankak-qr (SD) | mahfathati (DZ) | afrimoney (multi-AF inc nearby) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | BPM | La Poste Tunisienne | Bank of Khartoum | Algerian bank (TBD) | Africell Group |
| Launch | Early 2020 | 2019 | 2014 | 2025 | 2020 (relaunch) |
| Technology platform | Comviva | Postal proprietary | Bank proprietary | DZMobPay | Comviva |
| Distinctive feature | Facebook contacts + NFC + QR | Masterpass QR | Bank-app QR | DZMobPay interop | Multi-country |
| Points of sale | 470+ | La Poste outlets | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Status
Active, Mauritania's leading mobile bank [1, 2]:
- BPM operator since early 2020.
- Comviva platform.
- 470+ points of sale.
- Multi-modal addressing (mobile, Facebook, NFC, QR).
- Leading by users + volume.
Sources
- 1 Bankily — banque mauritanie
- 2 BPM Bankily
- 3 Bankily digital-banking revolution — Fintech Times
- 4 Bankily × Comviva
- [mr-cro]
reports/countries/MR-mauritania.md
Deployments
Found in the following country reports (grep across reports/countries/):
- MR — MR-mauritania.md