MTN Rwanda to Launch Mobile Money Service

MTN  Rwanda yesterday announced that
the company will be launching its
MTN Mobile Money product on to
the Rwandan market before
the end of the year.

The launch follows an extensive technological
and legislative process that has been
managed under the supervision
of The National Bank of Rwanda.

'MTN Mobile Money' which will the first
of its kind in Rwanda will be available
to customers on the MTN network
and will enable customers send money
from anywhere to anywhere in the country.

Traditionally people in Rwanda have been
sending money to friends, relatives
or business associates through
an assortment of means like banks,
the Post Office but mainly
by hand through third parties.

Only 14 percent, about 1.35 million
of the Rwandan population currently
use banking facilities in comparison
to the mobile phone telecommunication
sector that has more than
20 percent (1.9million) of the population
owning a phone.

The introduction of MTN Mobile Money
is going to revolutionise this with convenience,
speed, cost and safety of
all money transfer transactions.

The Mobile Money transaction systems
have been very successful in Kenya and Uganda.

MTN operations in Uganda are also set
to start international money transfer services.

The development not only shifts
the competition terrain to a geographical level,
but ushers the telecoms into one
of the most capitalised industries,
international remittances.

MTN and Zain have moved over Rwf10 billion
in mobile money transactions since
they started the service.

This is just a small fraction of
the global trade that the telecoms
are now likely to tap into.

Recent surveys in Kenya showed that
52 percent of all money transfers were
being done through M-Pesa The local name
for Mobile Money Transfer and 93 percent
of the people surveyed were happy
with the system because it removed
so many barriers and did
not limit the amount one could send.

Today there are close to
6 million regular users in Kenya.

MTN Rwanda will begin testing
the system and piloting with
selected MTN Mobile Money Agents.

CEO Khaled Mikkawi explained that
the company system testing exercise
is a critical process
we have to go through whenever
we introduce a new product onto the market.

"We are proud to be involved in this
initiative that is critical to the financial
deepening of the Rwandan Economy
and we are also fortunate that other
MTN markets have launched it and
we have key learning's to deliver
an exciting service to the people
of Rwanda," Mikkawi said.

South African mobile phone operator
MTN launched a money transfer system
for unbanked customers in Africa
and the Middle East, aiming to boost
subscriber loyalty and entice
new users in March this year.

Only one in five African households
in African has access to a bank account,
according to the United Nations,
but a much higher proportion
have a mobile phone and many
operators hope offering financial
services will attract new customers.

The technology works like
a mobile bank account,
enabling MTN customers
to make money transfers and payments.

MTN has piloted the service in Cameroon,
Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria.

It is now working on deploying the service
in the Middle East, including
in Afghanistan and Syria.

Link here
--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda