Pesapal a leading payments solution provider, has today inked a partnership deal with MTN Uganda in a bid to further advance cashless digital transformation and financial inclusion across the country.
As part of the deal, MTN will integrate its mobile money payments into the Pesapal Point-of-Sale machines (Sabi POS), meaning merchants with the machines will accept MTN MoMo payments in addition to Airtel Money, Visa and Mastercard payments.
The African mobile money Ecosystem has experienced rapid growth with Africa accounting for 70% of the world’s $1 trillion mobile money value according to GMSA – a global organization unifying the mobile ecosystem. The value of Africa’s mobile money transactions edged up 39% to $701.4 billion in 2021 from $495 billion in 2020, highlighting the future of African banking is mobile. Currently, less than 22% of Africans use traditional banking services while 59% use electric money services – World Bank. Mobile money has grown to diversity to the rest of the world, from Business-to-Consumer (B2C) to Business-to-Business (B2B).
Commenting on the partnership, Martin Barungi Country Director, Pesapal Uganda reaffirmed the company’s commitment to simplifying payment solutions for businesses, customers, and all Ugandans.
“Mobile money has become such a trusted technology attracting the unbanked population. Pesapal is keen on promoting financial inclusion in all our areas of operation and this partnership brings us one step closer to that goal. We share the same aspirations as our partner MTN Uganda, which is to bring financial services closer to the people. We are leveraging on our infrastructure to enable businesses to transact seamlessly,” he remarked.
“The new partnership will enhance business efficiency through integration of the payment platforms, faster reconciliation, and better accountability for business owners in this fast-paced environment. We are always looking out for partnerships that are aligned with our mission of transforming the digital payment landscape everywhere we operate. In this age, businesses that cannot afford to embrace technology will be faced with significant challenges,” he added.
According to the Uganda Communication Commission (UCC) Market Performance Report for the quarter ended June 2022, mobile money is becoming the main driver of Uganda’s financial services with over 40.7 million digital wallets shared between mobile network operators, 36.9 million of these were mobile money wallets linked to mobile network operators, while 3.8 million or 10 per cent were administered by licensed non-mobile network operator payment service providers.
Statistics from Bank of Uganda indicate the volume of mobile money transactions grew from 3.9 billion to 4.8 billion as of June 30, 2022.
This new partnership will enable customers to process their payments through Visa, Mastercard or MoMo on the same POS machine – Pesapal Sabi POS – simplifying the payment & reconciliation experience.