Tap and Go cards both mobile and fixed at every park and major stops

As Rwanda evolves into the technology hub for the region and continent, the component of a smart city is very crucial and from it, builds other major urban development programs focused on Rwanda's growth - and its challenges and opportunities.

AC Group launched the Tap&Go project with Kigali Bus Services and Royal Express and has since made some routes totally cashless with the blessing of the Government.

The primary reason for starting with automated fare collection where clients use cards is because operations were losing a huge percentage of their bus fare revenue to fraud hence hindering their ability to provide proper service to commuters.

With their revenues being collected in a transparent and efficient way, commuters have been able to enjoy public transport with fewer delays on the bus stops, quicker boarding on the buses and proper real time monitoring of the bus by authorities and the bus operators.

 Commuters that come to Kigali for the first time do have access to a well spread network of points of sale of the Tap&Go cards both mobile and fixed at every park and major stops. These stations not only supply the clients with card but also educate them on how to use it.

The card can be topped up with what a commuter feels they want to use and can also be shared with a family member or friend.

The Tap&Go project is the first milestone towards building an intelligent transport system that is a key component of the Smart Rwanda Manifesto. Rwanda's rapid shift to virtual money will strike because of a number of coordinated programs in different sectors and transport is one of them

Source: mobilemoneyafrica

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Tanzania's Mobile Money Revolution-Infographic

Kenya is often lauded as a global pioneer when it comes to mobile money, but Tanzania is also making its mark. With growing competition and mobile money providers starting to make their systems interoperable, Tanzania is setting an example for others.

Source:http://www.cgap.org/

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Vodacom and Tigo agree on mobile money interoperability

Millions of M-Pesa and Tigo Pesa customers in Tanzania will soon be able to send and receive money directly into each other’s wallets. This follows the recent signing of a mobile money interoperability agreement between Tigo and Vodacom.

The agreement announced today, will for the first time see four million Tigo Pesa users exchanging money directly with seven million M-Pesa customers. This is yet another tangible step towards the enhancement of financial inclusion in Tanzania as well as the expansion of the mobile money ecosystem in Tanzania. 

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) formulated the mobile-wallet-to wallet standards with support from Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA), (standards) which have been the basis of the interoperability discussions between mobile network operators in Tanzania.

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Dar es Salaam, Rene Meza, Vodacom Tanzania’s Managing Director said “This is a great evolution of the mobile money service in Tanzania. Our customers will soon be able to directly access the money received through Tigo Pesa and use it for whatever purposes they may have without necessarily having to cash it out.”

M-Pesa users can pay for an array of services from their phones. These include; TV subscriptions, Flights,  Insurance services, Utilities, Taxes, School fees, Pension Contributions  and Loans to name but a few.

In support of this, Meza says, "M-Pesa has added so much value to the lives of Tanzanians over the past seven years and the fact that this agreement with Tigo will see even more Tanzanians using our services to better their lives is indeed a major milestone.   We expect to launch the service by the end of the year and are currently working on upgrading our M-Pesa platform which will see us invest in excess of Tshs 150 billion/- to cater for the expected growth of users."

Meza went on to say that the agreement signed between the country’s two largest mobile operators’ networks would allow Vodacom’s M-Pesa users to directly send and receive money to an additional four million Tigo Pesa users across the country at no additional cost or inconvenience to them by the end of the year.

We are now working to ensure that we have both the technology and requisite resources needed to provide the quality of service that our customers have come to expect from us through the years…we are nevertheless excited about the opportunities posed by this new operating model. Our extensive agent network  which is over 85,000-strong as well as the enhancement of our M-Pesa service has  to date allowed our 7 million M-Pesa users  to be active players in the economy and we look forward to growing it even further. This is what making life better and financial inclusion is all about,” says Meza.

Source: Vodacom

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Orange announces cross border mobile money transfers to Africa

Orange is launching a quick and easy international money transfer service at a competitive price called “Orange Money International Transfer”. The offer is available between Mali, Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire.

Every year, 200 million euros are moved between those three countries in the form of money transfers. With the new service, Orange meets the needs of the growing number of Orange Money customers.

Orange Money International Transfer allows money to be sent and received from one’s mobile phone with complete security. Users no longer need to have cash with them when they travel, and sending cash doesn’t have to be done by a third party.

For example, a customer in Cote d’Ivoire can send money directly to friends and family or to suppliers in Mali or Senegal with their Orange Money account. All the sender needs to do is to dial  #144# from his or her mobile phone, then enter the Orange telephone  number of the recipient and the amount to be sent. The money is immediately available in the recipient’s account to make payments, purchases or transfers, or it can be withdrawn at a nearby location from any Orange Money distributor. If the recipient is not yet an Orange Money customer, he or she can easily open an account free of charge.

 “In launching Orange Money International Transfer today, several months of work to simplify life for our customers come to fruition. We are proud to be the first operator to offer customers the ability to make international money transfers between mobile phones in this area of Western Africa,” says Thierry Millet, Director of the strategic NFC and payment program at Orange.

Orange’s goal is to expand this first-of-a-kind service in Africa to other countries in which the Group is present. Available in 13 countries in Africa and the Middle East, Orange Money has more than 7 million customers today.

Source:mobilepayment

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CRDB Bank upgrades SIM banking

IN a bid to provide efficient and secure services, CRDB Bank has further improved its SIM Banking to accommodate new features that give customers the conveniences to perform more transactions at any location in the world.

Mobile phones have clearly shown that they can be an effective channel to provide financial services including remittances, savings or even loans.

So, banks have an opportunity to utilise mobile phones to reach out to their customers. This was unveiled at the weekend by the CRDB Bank Managing Director, Dr Charles Kimei, at a news conference on improvement made on SIM Banking.

"CRDB Bank is always seeking to create easy and less cost accessibility to the banking services to its customers," he said, adding this is why the bank is incorporating its services with the fast changing mobile money technology which is the future of the banking sector.

Dr Kimei urged its customers to register with the SIM Banking established in 2008, which gives them best and different options of performing bank transactions at any location.

Currently, over 300,000 CRDB Bank customers are using SIM Banking in its database with over one million customers.

According to Finscope 2013 report, more than 30 million Tanzanians own or use mobile phone but only 12 million use the cellphones to perform money transactions.

Statistics reveal further that the bankable population is around 17 per cent of the 45 million total population. The data offers the banking sector with the huge opportunity to spread its services to the unbankable population in rural areas, thus complimenting the government initiative of financial inclusion.

The CRDB Manager Electronic Banking, Mr Mangire Kibanda, said the bank has simplified the SIM Banking registration where customers register for themselves without visiting the bank branches.

SIM Banking present customers with an easy, hassle-free and convenient way to pay your bills like electricity, water, and airtime. Some of the companies incorporated into the SIM Banking include Dawasco, Moruwasa and Startimes. Also, money transactions through M-PESA and TIGO-Pesa.

The CRDB Director of Risk and Compliance, Mr James Mabura, cautioned customers to avoid disclosing the bank account particulars to people or hackers, who present themselves as CRDB staff having an ill will to steal their money.

Also, he urged customers to keep secure their pin number which are used in performing ATM and mobile money transactions.

Source:Dailynews

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