The campaign ended with a local businessman Godfrey Gaga, a client of Bank of Kigali winning a brand new Mahindra KUV 100 NXT, as the grand prize of the just-concluded campaign dubbed “Mu Munyenga na Mastercard” aimed to promote cashless payments using BK Mastercard. The campaign kicked off last year on December 14th and ended on March 5th 2021, with an awarding ceremony that took place in Kigali’s Central Business District. The campaign targeted bank’s clients who made a single transaction worth Rwf25, 000 and above using their debit or credit Mastercards to shop online or pay for merchandise via Point of Sale (POS). Gaga said he was surprised when he was contacted by BK staff telling him that he had won a car. “I want to thank Bank of Kigali’s Management for organising this promotion. I have been exclusively using cashless payments for a year and this promotion has boosted my resolve,” he said. He added: “I use the card to buy everything. It is very easy, it only requires consistency and I will continue to use it. The prize I received today is an extraordinary chance for me and it will facilitate me in daily activities including taking my children to school,” he noted. He urged other clients to embrace cashless payments saying it is safer in many ways. Tharcissie Byukusenge, in charge of Cards Service at Bank of Kigali said that different clients who used Mastercard debit or credit cards to shop online or pay via Point of Sale (POS), during the campaign, got different prizes. She said that over 47,000 clients participated in the campaign and carried out transactions worth Rwf1.2 billion during the campaign’s duration. “Out of all these participants, we rewarded 100 clients with vouchers, 80 clients were given cash back. We also awarded laptops to 10 clients while three clients were awarded motorcycles and the car was the grand prize,” she said. She said that the campaign has played a significant role in increasing the number of clients who use BK Mastercard from 30% to 62% “We urge our clients to remain consistent using the cards,” she said. Going fully cashless Dr. Diane Karusisi, the Chief Executive Officer of Bank of Kigali Plc, thanked the winners and all clients who committed to promote the cashless economy adding that it is part of the banks strategy to fully go cashless in the coming years. “This is a secure way for clients who shop different goods and services. We have invested a lot in promoting a cashless economy. Through the just-concluded campaign, we also managed to distribute over 6,000 new BK cards across the country,” she said. Dr Karusisi added that at national level, people who use cashless payments have drastically increased. “However, there are still people using cash in hand yet the cost of handling it is costly. The Covid-19 pandemic has given a lesson on why cashless payment is to be embraced. “Digital payment ensures security for client’s money and it is also one of the ways we can use to fight corruption as it is usually given as cash,” she noted. Dr. Karusisi added that BK digital transactions take between 30% and 35% of all transactions in the country. She added the bank is availing many digital innovations including those serving farmers such as Ikofi program, a financial product aiming to increase farmers’ eligibility to access credit. The other digital innovation, she said, is Smart Nkunganire System (SNS), a supply chain management system built by BK TecHouse Ltd in collaboration with Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) to digitalize the end to end value chain of the Agro-Input Subsidy program.
