Mobile money users jump four fold
Keikantse Lesemela | Monday May 12, 2014 11:13
A statement from the Ministry of Transport and Communications noted that the mobile money market has also grown substantially over the years such that, “un-banked persons can now receive and send money at their own convenience”.
Mobile money allows cash to move as fast as a Short Message Service (SMS), with the customer of a particular mobile operator, registering for the service and depositing the money with any approved vendor/agent of that operator.
The registered customer transfers money to anyone in Botswana who has a mobile phone of any network.
With only a population of two million, Botswana’s volume of mobile phone subscriber was last pegged at 3.08 million in 2012.
Mobile money services were first introduced in June 2011 by Orange Botswana followed by the market leader, Mascom wireless and later BeMobile. Orange and Mascom services are branded Orange Money and Mascom MyZaka respectively.
The story of phenomenal growth in mobile money growth is not peculiar to Botswana alone, with the rest of Sub-Saharan countries experiencing the same trend. This has boosted financial inclusion among the continent’s poor.
Speaking at the launch of the Orange Money Visa last year former chief executive officer of Orange Botswana, Elisabeth Medou-Badang said that about 50 percent of un-banked Batswana would benefit from the service.
She said that for the un-banked people to benefit from their innovations, they must have a strong and sound partnership across all industries, hence the introduction of the Orange Money and the Orange Money Visa.
The Orange Money Visa offers customers a virtual Visa card that enables secure online buying.
According to telcoms.Com magazine, it is easier to pay for a taxi ride using your mobile phone in Kenya than it is in Sydney.
Of the top 20 countries in the world for mobile money usage, 15 are in Africa, according to a survey conducted by the Gates Foundation, the World Bank and Gallup World Poll.
East Africa, led by Kenya, has 80 percent of the world’s mobile money transactions.
Africa’s mobile market topped $51 billion last year, which was more than the amount of money sent via mobile in Europe and North America combined in 2012, according to Gartner. Across sub-Saharan Africa, more companies are trying to follow suit; 41 new operators launched in 2012 alone. Although other countries have not emulated the Kenyan success, more than 56 million Africans currently have mobile money accounts.