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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Telecom firms ‘reprimanded’

THE Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) intends to take measures against telecom firms that reviewed promotion data tariffs without its express permission.

The law, section 5(2) and 12(2) of the 2011 Electronic and Postal Communications (Tariffs Regulations), directs telecoms to file their new tariffs plans prior to being used.

However, Vodacom, Tigo and Airtel, unilaterally changed their daily, weekly and monthly voice, SMS and internet bundles reducing substantially data package amounts and prices.

TCRA Communications Manager Innocent Mungy said in Dar es Salaam that although the tariffs adjusted were of promotional nature the providers were supposed to notify the regulator before putting them into effect.

“TCRA is not regulating promotion tariffs but the law directs them to notify us prior of use,” Mr Mungy pointed out, noting that the telecom firms have for long enticed customers to use internet data thus going into a promotion binge.

“The trend shows that providers have reduced heavily on internet and want subscribers to start buying normal internet bundles,” he said.

According to the TCRA statement, the authority shall impose penalties as shall be (deemed) necessary, directing service providers “to adhere to the law when reviewing their tariffs.” The authority also directed telecom firms to ensure that any changes are “gradual and not abrupt to avoid shocks in the markets”.

The regulator’s intervention into the matter has come following the subscribers’ outcry after the three providers heavily slashed bundle amounts despite the service being optional among users.

Promotional prices show that telecom service providers have increased the number of minutes for voice and SMS amount but reduced internet bundles considerably.

The most affected area was on internet bundles where the lowest daily tariffs went down to between 8.0 and 10 megabytes from between 15 and 250mbs.

Weekly megabytes plummeted to between 60 and 70mb from between 100 and 2000 while monthly to between 250 and 300mb from between 300 and 4000mb while monthly down to between 300 and 4000mb to between 250 and 300mb.

However, TCRA directs service providers to give their customers choice of separate bundle plans.

For the voice, SMS and internet services, a consumer should be given the liberty of how much to spend for a given price and period of time.

Source: DailyNews

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