MTN South Africa has launched a mobile money service (MoMo) to enable around 11 million people to access financial services. MoMo is available to all South African citizens, regardless of the network they are using. The platform is powered by UBank and uses the Ericsson Wallet Platform.
MTN’s MoMo service enables customers to use their mobile phones and other devices to send and receive money, purchase airtime and prepayment electricity, and pay their municipal bills and DSTV subscriptions.
MTN said this makes MoMo appealing even to people who already hold bank accounts who prefer not to withdraw cash.. MTN is phasing in the service. It will add well-known retail brands to the platform starting in May 2020. MoMo is available to customers with smartphones and basic feature phones alike.
MTN MoMo offers two types of account, the Yello account and the Yello Plus account. with the Yello account, daily cash transactions are limited to ZAR 3,500. The total daily amount for a full range of transactions is ZAR 10,000 and the monthly account limit is capped at ZAR 20,000.
With Yello Plus, daily cash transactions are limited to ZAR 10,000. The total daily amount for a full range of transactions is ZAR 20,000 and the monthly account limit is capped at ZAR 40,000.
MoMo customers can withdraw or deposit funds at MTN-branded stores, at UBank branches, or through their own banks via electronic fund transfers (EFTs).
MTN is awaiting final approval from Apple to register the MoMo app on the Apple App Store. This is expected to be finalised within the next couple of weeks.
MoMo uses biometrics like voice and facial recognition to authenticate users. The details of MoMo customers are cross-checked with the population database at the Department of Home Affairs. The user’s funds are also protected by a PIN. If the MoMo customer loses their phone, their money is still safe.
MoMo will have non-store agents to facilitate registrations and transactions. Agents are vetted and trained.