EDITORIAL: Cross-border mobile money, another integration milestone

A standard gauge railway line snaking from the coast of Mombasa, Kenya through regional capitals could all have been a distant dream. Not anymore. The integration drive in East African Community is taking shape, much to the benefit of the end users. Whereas it will take at least five years and billions of dollars for the railroads to come true, it only takes a few infrastructural adjustments and dollars for an Angela in Kampala to be able to wire mobile money to her mother in Kigali. Cross-border mobile money services are coming to our handsets. The days when one had to go to Nyabugogo and meet both the cost of exchange rate and sending money from informal money traders are soon going to be a memory of the past. People wishing to send money, say to Uganda, usually are required to pay service fee that increases depending on how much one is sending. This has been costly to many as the third party (mobile money agents) stationed around forex bureaus downtown capitalised on this to make a kill. Earlier this year, Tigo started cross-border mobile money services with its sister company Tigo Tanzania. MTN Rwanda has since announced that it will next month integrate its mobile money system with that of MTN Uganda, allowing subscribers to send and receive money between the two countries. This is a commendable milestone in our regional integration efforts that will put a smile on the faces of traders, parents, students and travellers as it will ease money transfer between the two countries. Already, the fruits of this milestone is being enjoyed downtown where a handful of mobile money agents are able to wire mobile money across the region without asking for the dreaded fees for sending the money. This cross-border mobile money service has been long overdue, but we can still say it comes are the right time when the push for breaking border barriers for the benefit of the citizens of East African Community is gaining momentum. The masses should not just enjoy the fruits of integration but also rally behind efforts to advance more such services across the region.

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EDITORIAL: Cross-border mobile money, another integration milestone