Saturday 27 July 2013

Day 3 - Mobile money: Y'ello 21st century!


Tuesday 23rd July


Y'ello! Today I joined the 21st century, courtesy of forward-looking African technology! I created a bank account that exists purely on my Zambian mobile phone, using MTN Money.


I went to a kiosk that looked a bit like this one, and asked them how long it would take to set up an MTN Money account for me, and they said 5 minutes. I timed them. It took 6! Sadly they made a mistake (I should have known it wouldn't have gone smoothly) so I had to go to a shop and provide a photocopy of my passport, but that wasn't too time-consuming and then it was done.

I now have some money that is held much more securely than cash, and which is easily liquidated. I got the idea when I got chatting some guys in a restaurant in Nyabugogo in Kigali, Rwanda last year. They worked for Tigo (a competitor) and told me about Tigo cash. I realised that if the service was accessible to poor people living in remote farmsteads in Rwanda, it should be accessible to me too.



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2 comments:

  1. Helen29 July 2013 at 02:57

    Wow, that's pretty amazing technology! If it's linked to your mobile though, what would happen if you lost your mobile? How do you authenticate?

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  2. Sanjay30 July 2013 at 05:39

    When you set up your account, you have to show your National ID card or passport. If the phone is lost or stolen, you can go back to the MTN shop to get it cancelled. In the meantime, a thief still wouldn't be able to access your money unless they could crack the 5-digit PIN number that you create when you set up the account.

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