Six years after its launch, MTN Mobile Money has transitioned from just facilitating remittances of cash in and cash out payments to becoming an indispensable component of today’s society.
Launched in March 2009, the service was initially designed to enable customers to send and receive money domestically and buy airtime using their mobile phone.
But Mobile Money has continued to grow and evolve into a mainstream method of payment for goods and services, facilitating seamless banking transactions and tax payments;payment of utility bills, allowing parents to pay their children’s school fees and simply paying for food and for MTN products and services, as well as purchasing products online. The growth of MTN Mobile Money has been unparralled, with over 7.5m subscribers, 3.5m of which are active daily, the total number of registered users has overshadowed the overall number of bank account holders in Uganda over the years.
“The ease and convenience of Mobile Money can best be illustrated by how widely it has been accepted as the preferred method of payment for bills and utilities. Today, more than 70 percent of all utility bills are paid through the MTN Mobile Money platform,” said MTN Uganda’s General Manager for Financial Services, Phrase Lubega.
In terms of payment of utilities, MTN Mobile Money facilitates the payment of an average of Shs 5.8 billion monthly, which is 71.42 percent of the volume collected by all mobile money subscribers in the market. MTN also collects about sh2.1 billion water bills through mobile money, which is 74.55 percent of total volumes collected.
“The integration of financial services into the Mobile Money portfolio has seen the service not only drive financial inclusion, but has also boldly cemented MTN’s influence as the leading financial services provider in Uganda,” he added.
“We are proud to say that MTNhas indisputably become Uganda’s leading financial service provider, enabling consumers to access alternative methods of transacting to suite their lifestyle,” he said.
“MTN Mobile Money now partners with 12 financial institutions facilitatingdeposits and withdrawals of funds seamlessly from their accounts. On average, over 20,000 MTN subscribers already use this service each month,” Mr. Lubega revealed.
Overall, 87 percent of all mobile money to/from bank transactions are facilitated by MTN Mobile Money.
In addition, over 35,000 subscribers majorly in rural Uganda access solar power by using MTN Mobile Money to pay. MTN is proud to partner with companies such as ReadyPay and Mkopa, which are changing lives through enabling access to affordable electricity services
Mobile Money in the digital world
Mobile Money is backed by breakthrough technology that offers a complete end-to-end customer experience enabling real-time transactions and can seamlessly replace cash.
Today, the MTN Mobile Money has completely become digital. If you own a smart phone as a mobile money subscriber you can simply download the new MyMTN Mobile Money App to get a fully digital experience for all MTN Mobile money transactions.
“MTN Mobile Money is so much more than money on your phone. It’s a boldand transformative service that has seamlessly integrated the extensive financial services ecosystem of Uganda and made it accessible through your mobile phone, towards an easier and simpler way of life for all Ugandans. MTN Mobile Money is transforming lives every day and simply makes life easierfor the over 7.5 million MTN Mobile Money users,” said MTN’s Chief Executive Officer, Brian Gouldie.
