Two of the country’s telecom sector operators have shifted competition to the mobile money service as the number of subscribers to the service increase.

The booming mobile payment service across the region facilitates the rapid transfer on money using a mobile phone device. It also helps the unbanked population to access financial services.

TIGO Rwanda, a subsidiary of Luxembourg based Millicom International Cellular, launched its mobile money service two months ago and has since registered 9,127 subscribers with an average of 1,917 transactions per day.

In the period from January to June, MTN had registered almost 300,000 users on their platform, registering US$33 million (Rwf19.5b) since the launch of the service last year.

The operator has 377 agents while has 270.

According to official statistics published in the Central Bank’s Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Statement, both operators have a combined 212,012 transactions, transferring Rwf4.1 billion in the first six months of the year.

"We introduced prepaid electricity and focused on having more agents in the field,” the Head of Mobile Money at MTN, Albert Kinuma told The New Times.

On MTN’s platform, a subscriber can make remittances, urban to rural money transfers, bulk payments, purchase airtime and electricity vouchers among other products.

Bulk payment enables construction companies and cooperatives to make instantaneous payments to their employees with no cash involvement. 

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