The Mokash Mobile Money platform launched by MTN Uganda and Commercial Bank of Africa Uganda (CBA) a year ago to give clients loans, has hit the Shs30 billion mark.
In a press release issued today MTN, Uganda’s largest telecom by sales and subscriber base, says that since the launch of MoKash platform on the MTN Mobile Money, 2.5 million customers have joined the service, with 1.2 million of these actively saving on MoKash while over one million loans have been issued.
“At MTN, our mission is to make customer’s lives a whole lot brighter and we introduced MoKash to give customers more services to enable them achieve their goals,” Elsa Muzzolini, the General Manager of Mobile Financial Services at MTN Uganda, wrote.
“The additional feature of being able to borrow and save (Mokash) means that the unbanked can be served with financial services that have previously been a privilege of traditional bank account holders,” Muzzolini adds.
According to Muzzolini, MTN Uganda has over 9 million registered subscribers on its Mobile Money platform, which represents 80 percent of the network’s total subscriber base.
He says subscribers can save as low as Shs50 and earn interest of 2 percent to 5 percent and borrow short term loans ranging between Shs3000 to Shs1, 000,000 on their phones without visiting an agent or bank.
A loan request attracts a 9 percent facilitation fee and is valid for 30 days. MoKash is accessible 24 hours a day from anywhere and at any time, and as of June 30 2017, MTN Uganda recorded 11.5 million subscribers across Uganda.
According to the Finscope III survey, MTN Mobile Money was the largest contributor to the nonbank financial services in Uganda.
The introduction of additional services on the Mobile Money platforms has transcended the basic sending and receiving functionality to more advanced services like payments, international remittances and saving and borrowing via the phone, boosting the financial inclusion drive in the country.
