Bank of Uganda has directed Africell mobile money customers to approach Stanbic Bank with their identification details and an alternative Phone Number or Bank account to claim their payments.
Last month, Africell Uganda Limited announced that it will toady cease to deliver mobile money services to its customers following its decision exit Ugandan market.
“Africell will stop services on 7 October 2021 and the last day of employment with Africell Uganda will be 30 November 2021. Africell will clearly communicate the transition in respect to its employees and clients,” Africell announced.
According to Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, the Governor of BoU Africell has been offering Mobile Money services in partnership with Stanbic Bank Uganda.
“Stanbic shall pay customers for a period of 90 days with effect from October 8, 2021. After the expiry of this period, the details of unpaid beneficiaries and the respective amounts shall be transferred to Bank of Uganda,” Mutebile said.
He assured the public that it will continue to safe guard the stability and integrity of the financial sector.
Africell Uganda was established in May 2014, when it acquired the majority stake that Orange Telecom owned in its Uganda cellular network. Africell paid $12 million for that stake, inheriting an estimated 1,000,000 subscribers. In November 2014, the Group Chairman and CEO announced plans to invest US$150 million in the next 5 years, to upgrade the Africell network in Uganda.
In 2014, the network subscribers in Uganda were estimated at one million. As of September 2018, its subscriber customer numbers had risen to 2.1 million. In April 2020, the company’s website gives the number of subscribers as over 3,000,000.
In 2018, Africell Holdings, the parent company of Africell Uganda, secured a loan of US$100 million from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), to expand operations in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Africell Holdings maintains subsidiaries in the Gambia, Sierra Leone, DR Congo and Uganda. As of January 2015, Africell Uganda maintained coverage in the majority of Uganda’s geographical area.
