Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR), the country’s largest commercial bank in terms of market share, on Friday launched ‘Mobile Banking’ technology in an effort to curb the long queues within the bank’s premises.

BPR joins the list of other banks like FINABANK, Rwanda Commercial Bank (BCR) and Bank of Kigali (BK) among others that have already embraced the technology which enables clients to conduct banking transactions via their mobile phone handsets.

Rwanda’s banking industry is still small with less than 20 percent of the adult population making use of the services.

According to Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA), mobile phone subscribers have grown to some 3.2. Banks can therefore tap this goldmine, especially in rural areas, for delivering banking services and also increasing their client base.

With the new technology, bank clients can access their accounts, transfer funds or make payments with their mobile phones.
 
Users will also be able to purchase electricity, airtime, pay-phone bills and monthly Pay-TV subscription, receive SMS alerts concerning salaries, and order cheque books.

The technology’s introduction also mirrors the banks’ efforts to deliver cheap and less time-consuming banking products. Clients should take advantage of such developments in banks for purposes of convenience and easy access to services. At the same time, sensitization should be carried out by the banks to popularize mobile banking among customers.

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