MTN Uganda and Africell Uganda have unveiled an assisted payment system that will see the latter’s customers buy airtime and data through MTN mobile money agents.
At a press conference held Tuesday morning at Mestil Hotel in Nsambya, Kampala, Africell Sales Director Alex Wekoye said that they (Africell) are trying to leverage MTN’s extensive mobile money infrastructure to “deliver value to our customers”.
By partnering with MTN Uganda, it boosts Africell’s expansion strategy since they can now easily reach their customers, considering MTN has the highest number of mobile money agents in the country.
Wekoye said that all the MTN Mobile money agents are now aware of the initiative.
Explaining how the system works, MTN Uganda General Manager (GM) for Mobile Financial Services Christopher Ssali said that customers will visit mobile money agents who’ll use the USSD code *165*7# to initiate the transaction.
The agent will then access the following prompts: Pay for Customer>Select Africell Service>Number>Value of Service>PIN.
MTN’s Christopher Ssali explains how the new service works.
Step 1: An Africell customer visits any MTN Mobile Money agent and requests for the service (either to top up airtime or buy a data or social media bundle) #MTNMoMo pic.twitter.com/N6NQHjIIon— MTN Uganda (@mtnug) August 6, 2019
Ssali says the MTN-Africell assisted payment will offer a value of over a billion shillings to their agents while providing an enabling environment for Africell Uganda.
Wekoye said this will facilitate a convenient experience for their customers.
It should be recalled that the government of Uganda last year banned the sale of airtime scratch cards, leaving citizens with the option of buying airtime electronically.
Telecom companies have partnered with a number of third parties to expand their reach.
With Africell Uganda, you can buy airtime and data through POS services like PayWay, Eezy Money or banks like Stanbic and DFCU.
The MTN-Africell assisted payment will only be accessed at MTN Mobile Money agent shops. This means you can’t do it with your phone or at the Service Centre.
