Bank Gaborone launches tobetsa mobile banking

KEIKANTSE LESEMELA
Correspondent | Monday March 19, 2012 00:00

Dubbed Tobetsa Mobile Banking, the service provides an additional channel for clients to do their banking any time anywhere. Among the key features of Tobetsa are a Setswana option and no need to set up a beneficiary before transferring money to them.

Launching the product on Friday, the Managing Director of Bank Gaborone, Andre Barnard, said Tobetsa provides an additional channel for their clients to do banking whenever and wherever they choose.

'In addition to the above, we believe that Tobetsa will further enable us to provide financial services to the unbanked market,' Barnard said. 'We bring convenience, 24/7 banking and no more queues. Our clients can now do the following transactions via their mobile phones: fund transfers within accounts at Bank Gaborone and to other accounts at local banks, Prepaid Topup, balance enquires and mini statements.'

He said the introduction of Tobetsa Mobile Banking would improve Bank Gaborone's banking services. 'Tobetsa will not only bring convenience but also save valuable time and money for our clients and potential clients,' he noted.

'Clients can transfer money by simply inserting the mobile number of the person they want to send money to.

This removes the need to obtain an account number and because mobile numbers are easier to remember, it is more convenient.'

Barnard disclosed that some of the Tobetsa features that will be available in the near future include bill payments and a Setswana language option that will become available in two months.

Another innovative feature of Tobetsa is that there is no need to set up a beneficiary in order to transfer funds.

'Most mobile banking offerings require the client to visit a branch to set up a beneficiary,' Barnard said. 'Not with Tobetsa. 'We save our clients' time and money by enabling them to simply punch in the beneficiaries banking details during the transaction.

'The Tobetsa Help option provides transaction charges and banking codes for all banks to assist our clients in doing their mobile banking.' Cellphone banking is expanding in Africa as cellular penetration rates soar due to declining use of fixed-line telephones. Countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Egypt have some of the continent's highest cellphone penetration rates. This has created joint-venture opportunities for cellphone companies and banks to deliver financial services to reach the unbanked, particularly those in remote areas where building branches is uneconomical.

First National Bank introduced mobile banking in 2006 while Barclays Bank and Standard Chartered did so in 2009. The introduction of on-line and mobile banking is expected to reduce the queues that have become synonymous with banking halls in Botswana.