Bundle Africa is one of the newest Social Payment Apps set to make crypto easily accessible. In this article, I will cover everything you need to know about Bundle Africa — What they are, its vision and mission, the registration process, benefits, limitations, and a complete in-app walkthrough.
Introduction
Africa is the most fertile continent for cryptocurrencies. Considering that the continent has the largest youngest population in the world, a billion-plus child expectancy in the next 30 years, enthusiastic digital inclination, and a conspicuous financial crisis, it makes sense that a blockchain or cryptocurrency seed planted in this part of the world will blossom beyond our imagination.
Nevertheless, don’t take my word for it — what do I know after all? — but listen to Changpeng Zhao, popularly called CZ, the founder of Binance:
“… We view the entire African Market as a really key market …. It is a very much untapped market…”
Even the CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, thinks that Africa will define the future of cryptocurrencies.
However, Africa is not without challenges , as CZ mentioned in the same Ask Me Anything (AMA) session, where he called Africa fertile ground for cryptocurrency adoption.
He mentioned that a significant challenge with cryptocurrency adoption in the continent was the disconnect between fiat and cryptocurrencies, as exchanges find it difficult to link with African banks because of the non-existent API technology and the difficulty in building business relationships.
You and I have experienced the result of this exchange-bank disconnect when we plan to buy or cash out our crypto.
In most cases, we must look for a peer or an escrow platform on Telegram, WhatsApp, or a dedicated website to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other cryptocurrencies. This has exposed us more to scammers and fraudsters.
Well, I’m happy to let you know there’s now a solution — Bundle Africa.
One whose mission is to drive crypto adoption in Africa and facilitate its dday-to-dayuse.
Bundle Africa is currently the easiest, fastest, and cheapest way to jump into crypto or cash out your crypto assets directly into your bank account.
What is Bundle Africa?
For cryptocurrency to thrive, transactions carried out with it must feel like just another traditional financial transaction, and that’s what the founder, Yele Bademosi, aims to do with his newly launched crypto & cash social payment app.
In his words,
“We built Bundle with the digitally native African user in mind. They are social, online, and connected across geographical boundaries. They prefer their financial services delivered digitally via mobile apps as opposed to visiting brick and mortar bank branches. We decided to build a mobile wallet that supports cash and crypto, and makes using crypto feel like just another digital financial transaction done on a mobile app,”
Bundle Africa is a social payment app designed to achieve ddailyuse of cryptocurrency and fiat
Via its several payment channels, such as card payments, bank transfers, and mobile money, Bundle Africa fills the chasm that once existed between fiat and crypto in Africa by lowering the entry barrier into the crypto space and making buying & selling crypto as easy as hopping on a bike.
Bundle achieves placing crypto and fiat pari passu.
NBundle makesbuying and selling crypto an eeasytask, but it also takes the stress out of storing and transferring fiat and crypto to clients, friends, and loved ones.
Bundle Africa allows its users to store crypto and fiat in the same place – in its smart wallet.
The smart wallet is divided into a fiat card and a crypto card in which users can hold Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB), and Binance USD-pegged stablecoin (BUSD) and the Nigerian Naira (NGN) in the fiat division.
At the time of writing, only Naira is supported in the App.
However, Bundle plans to support more cryptocurrencies and fiat in more than 30 African countries in the coming months.
Bundle Africa simplifies sending cash and cryptocurrency tbyhaving a user’s phone number, just as WhatsApp simplifies peer-to-peer messaging.
Users of the Bundle App can easily import contacts from their phonebooks, send them a request, and (if accepted) send cash or crypto.
No doubt anonymity is sacrificed for now, but its concept of linking transactions to phone numbers is an efficient one.
FFundtransfer can finally be possible by javing a person’s phone number.
You’re mistaken if you’re already thinking that Bundle is a subsidiary of Binance because of the BNB and the BUSD cryptocurrencies it already supports.
However, the founder, Yele Bademosi, was the former director of the BinanceLabs project.
Bundle did secure a whopping sum of $450k preseed raise from Binance.
Regardless, at least, it is independent in its operations on paper.
Bundle Africa’s vision is to drive cryptocurrency adoption in Africa.
It is fun and easy to interact and transact between fiat and crypto while creating multiple use cases for crypto as it tries to bring Africans financial freedom and prosperity.
It’s no wonder that Binance backs up this project, as their abjectives closely align with CZ’s desires and Binance’s vision to make crypto globally and easily accessible.
Both parties believe that Bundle is a viable solution to the socio-economic and hyperinflation problems Africans face today.
How To Sign-Up a Free Bundle Africa Account
Creating an account on the Bundle App is as easy as giving someone your phone number and getting a text message from them minutes later.
Let’s walk through the registration process briefly, shall we?
First, you must download and install the Bundle Africa mobile App from the Play Store or App Store, depending on your device.
At the app’s first launch, it reveals its splash screen, which takes less than a minute, then gives way to the registration screen below.
Bundle Africa Registration
Tapping on the arrow beside the flag opens a dropdown of several countries from which you can select your country.
When you do, your country call code replaces the previous one, in this case, “+234” for Nigeria.
As shown in the placeholder, when typing in your phone number, leave out the first “0”; add the remaining ten digits if you’re from Nigeria.
If your phone number is 080273477112, just type in 80273477112, and you’re good to go.
If you input a phone number that has been used to sign up before, the App will ask you to input the password tied to that phone number and sign in instead.
However, if it’s a new phone number, you’re sent a one-time password via SMS, which the app automatically reads and fills in when you receive the message.
When that is done, you’d have to create a password for this phone number.
The password must be a minimum of 8 characters and must include at least one upper case, lower case, a number, and a unique character.
TIncludingeach of these characters checks well as it is added, as shown below.
Bundle Africa Password Set
After saving the set password, Bundle requires you to link an email address to the account for recovery.
Completing this launches you into the wallet interface, which we shall look at in the App’s features below.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.5.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.5.1″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.5.1″ _module_preset=”default”]
Bundle Africa In-App Interface & Operations
After sign-up (different from verification), you are launched into the App homepage or interface, as seen in the image below.
The Bundle App Wallet
The wallet interface holds some exciting features, including funds request or pay buttons, a balance black card, a profile image at the top left, an add cash icon at the top right, a list of supported assets, and a ledger of transactions.
The fund request and send features represented by the buttons in the image above allow users to quickly pay and request payment from anyone whose contact number they have and who is signed up on the Bundle App.
Tapping on the button leads you to select to whom the funds will be sent and the currency of choice.
You can also input a description of the transaction.
When this is completed, you will get a notification via the update tab to tell you your transaction status.
The Bundle App Supported Fiat Assets.
The Bundle App cupports only the Nigerian Naira (NGN) for fiat assets.
It plans to support other currencies in the coming months.
Opening the NGN asset from the catalog of assets reveals the value held and the ledger of transactions done in that particular currency.
Within the selected fiat “drawer” (I call it a drawer because the user can draw it in or out as shown by the arrows in the above image placed by the “handle”), you can add fiat currency with the “Add Cash” button from any local bank account or withdraw with the “Cash out” button.
Charges apply, and at the time of writing, adding funds to your wallet directly with a debit card attracts a 1.5% fee, and via bank transfer attracts a flat fee of ₦150 ($0.38.
PS: Fees are charged from whatever medium funds are moved from, i.e., If funds are being added to the in-app fiat wallet from a bank account, fees are charged from the bank account and vice-versa.
The fiat drawer has an About panel that provides some of the asset’s FAQs and some tips about the asset in a WhatsApp story-like manner.
The Bunde App Supported Crypto Assets
At the time of writing, Bundle Africa supports only the 4fouraforementioned crypto assets.
They are found in the wallet interface alongside the fiat asset.
There is nAs seen below, there is nodifferentiation between fiats and crypto at the time of writing ,
SLikethe Fiat drawerhas a “withdraw” and “receive” buttons replacing the cash-action buttons of the Fiat drawer.
It also has the buy and sell buttons to allow users to easily exchange crypto assets to their local fiat currency or buy crypto with funds in their wallet.
Above the buttons is the balance of the value held in the particular cryptocurrency whose drawer is opened.
For the first three months after its launch, Bundle has removed charges for buying and selling cryptocurrency. Whoop! Whoop!!
The “withdraw” and “receive” buttons allow users to send in or send out funds to or from other external wallets or exchanges.
Below the black card holding the value balance and buttons are two panels: The transaction history & about — just like in the fiat drawer.
The transaction history is a ledger of transactions done in that particular crypto.
Just as in the fiat About panel, that of crypto holds FAQs about the crypto and some tips about the cryptocurrency generally.
The Bundle App User Profile Tab
The user profile can be assessed via its stationed icon at the bottom of the app or the circular profile picture wt the top left corner of the wallet interface or within some drawers.
Within the profile, as seen above, the user can change profile information, which includes a display name.
The username, once set, can not be changed. As seen above, mine is @CED.
Account verification involves inputting your full government name, date of birth, and Bank Verification Number (BVN).
That’s all. The account is verified in less than a minute.
Bundle Africa Affiliate Opportunity
Within “Refer and Earn,” you can get a referral link with which you can invite users to the App and earn commissions.
The good news is that other users get ₦500 ($1.25 when the person you invited maintains at least ₦5000 ($12.5 approx) in the wallet for 30 days or more.
Update: The above conditions have been modified to have the invited person make the theme amount mentioned above in the first 15 days after referral. Tradingvolume counts both buys and sells.
The payment method section allows tusersto add or delete aards or bank accounts.
The Bundle App Security Tab
You can change Pyour in or recover la ost PIN via the security settings. The app uses a four-digit PIN to secure your account from unauthorized access.
Finally, from this tab, you could contact customer support via the help center, learn more about the product from the team or other users within the community, and log out from your account accordingly.
The Bundle App Updates Tab.
This can also be called the notifications tab.
Deposits, withdrawals, and payment request notifications are all cataloged within this app section.
Advantages of the Bundle Africa Social Payments App:
- The entry barrier to the cryptocurrency space is significantly lowered with this Social payment app, as adding fiat and buying crypto with it is almost 100% seamless.
- Crypto and fiat can be sent from peer to peer jy having a peer’s phone number. This doesn’t change the usual way to withdraw crypto to another wallet. That feature is still there as “withdraw.”
- An earning Opportunity for users who have a lot of friends.
- It has an excellent dollar-to-fiat (Naira) advantage of the doesn’tAfrica Social Payments App:
- There’s no anonymity with the app.
- The central theme of decentralization of” Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology is not upheld. The bundle is a centralized social payments app.
- Currently available only in Nigeria only (for now).
- The exchange rate is not so great for Buyers.
- The minimum transaction allowed for Ether (buying & selling) is about $10. For all others, it’s about $2.
Conclusion
Bundle simplifies transferring fiat or crypto by removing the hassle of having long addresses or even local account details.
Friends signed up on Bundle on your contact list can quickly be transacted with.
The App users, fondly called “bundlers,” give good reviews about the project.
You can see some feedback on Twitter via the hashtag #BundleFeedbackFriday or #BundleFF.
And that’s it! I hope it wasn’t too much to chew, swallow, and digest.
Let me know if there’s a better or similar social payment app. I will be happy to share my thoughts on it, too.