The growth of mobile money transfer services over the past five years has been unprecedented, defying bookmakers’s predictions for its early death.

Presently, mobile money platforms play a big role, especially easy payment of bills for utilities, in hotels, as well as supermarkets, and other service centres. The service has also made it easy for rural folks to access financial services.

A cross-section of Rwandans, traders, drivers, passengers, and telecom operators interviewed by this reporter says mobile money transfer service providers have helped create an inclusive cashless society in the country.

Mobile money service are provided by all the three local telecoms, MTN, Tigo and Airtel.

Assina Mujawimana, a trader at Rubavu/Goma border, says innovations by telecoms that have seamless platforms for subscribers to send or receive across the region support business operations, and have helped reduce risks involved in carrying huge sums of cash.

"Most traders travel at night making it risky to carry money in your wallet. However, money transfer (mobile money) gave us some relief,” Mujawimana said.

She added that the cross-border mobile money service was launched at a time when the push for breaking border barriers for the benefit of the citizens of East African Community was gaining momentum.

Jane Bayera, who operates at Rwanda/Uganda border post of Gatuna, said mobile money transfer is convenient and has boosted informal trade.

"These services provide time and cost-efficient ways of transferring money. This eases way of doing business in the region,” Bayera said.

Transporters speak out

According to Col (Rtd) Dodo Twahirwa, the president of the Rwanda Federation Transport Cooperatives, the transportation industry has already rolled out a cashless payment system, noting that it is more effective.

He said buses plying the Kigali-Nyamirambo, Kigali-Gatsata, and Kigali-Kimisagara routes started using the e-payment system. 

"Presently, we are in the final stages of introducing the same system for long distance and cross-border buses,” he said.

Mobile money transfer is the easiest way to use compared to Western Union, Dahabshiil, and MoneyGram because one has to first fill some papers, which are in English or French. This is what has endeared most Rwandans to mobile-based money transfer services provided by the telecoms.

John Bosco Gasigwa, a Kigali Bus Services driver, said if a passenger doesn’t have paper money, they can pay the fare using mobile money. He added that e-payments are good for the environment.

Stella Mugwaneza, whose children study at Kabaterine Memorial School, in Mbarara, Uganda, said the cross-border mobile money platform has facilitated parents to easily pay for their children’s school fees using the mobile phones instead of sending through third parties, which she said was risky.

"I used to go to the border to exchange Rwandan francs into Ugandan shillings before sending the money. However, I can now send school money using MTN Mobile Money transfer service on my phone without the hassle of going to forex bureaus,” she said.

What telecom firms say

Teta Mpyisi, the MTN Rwanda senior manager for brand and sponsorship, said mobile money services provide convenience, enabling subscribers to make transactions from wherever they are, and at any time. This fosters a cashless culture as people transact using e-money from their mobile wallets.

"People without bank accounts are able to make transactions using mobile money, making the service one of the best ways of deepening financial inclusion,” Teta said.

She added that the service has made it possible for business people to transfer money within the country and across borders.

One need not to bother carrying cash or queueing in banking halls to make cash transfers, she said. She added that some firms pay their employees, especially those working in hard-to-reach areas of the country, using the service.

"By adopting the MTN mobile payment solution, known as mobile bulk payments, businesses are able to efficiently, swiftly and safely pay staff working in the field or in the provinces instantly,” Teta said.

She noted that the service is highly inclusive, and brings on board a huge number of the unbanked population, as well as the banked.

All you require is a phone, no matter how basic, to effect a safe and secure money transaction, she added. 

Teta said an average of about 2,650 transactions are conducted on the MTN Mobile Money platform between Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda per month, adding that the firm has about 3.7 million mobile money users.

Sunny Ntayombya, the Tigo corporate communication and government relations manager, said as Rwandans move toward a cashless economy, mobile money payments will play a huge role in reaching that goal.

He said, through the Tigo Cash platform, more than 1.1 million Rwandans are now able to transact with merchants, and send and receive money from Tanzania and the DR Congo. One can also use their mobile account to transact with Western Union and World Remit; deposit and withdraw money from their bank or SACCO account, as well as make bulk payments. 

He said all these initiatives are geared toward supporting the government’s goal of creating a cashless economy.

Since the Tigo Cash platform was launched in 2011, over Rwf1 trillion (over $1.5 billion) has been transferred through the Tigo Cash platform. 

Statistics from the central bank show that between December 2102 and December 2015, the number of mobile money accounts increased by 432 per cent, from 1,440,541 to 7,663,199.

The number of transactions using the mobile money service increased by 659.8 per cent, from 22.2 million to 168.6 million.