Kenya overtaken by Tanzania in mobile money transfer

Geza Ulole

JF-Expert Member
Oct 31, 2009
58,771
78,446
Interoperable network impact on Tanzania

jul3mobilemoney.jpg

MONEY TRANSFER TECHNOLOGY: Records show that there are more than 25 million subscribers with access to mobile money transfer technology which is accommodated by all mobile phone companies operating in the country. COURTESY PICTURE


DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania - In any country in the world, its unified national economy becomes stronger to a certain extent due to the circulation of local currency which among other tasks is to regulate the high rising inflation rates in order to build up stronger economies of the people and the community at large.

The growth of the national economy is always determined by the rate at which Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increases, and this is being contributed by all sectors of the economy in the country including communication sector.

GDP increase in the country is also determined by a strong local market exchange of goods.

Statistics by Tanzania’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicate that, Tanzania’s GDP keeps on increasing at an annual rate of between 6% and 7%. This slow moving rate is an indication that the country needs to put much effort into developing its own resources and achieve more in order to cater for the need of local demand.

In addition to that, the country needs to strengthen its economic and solidify major financial bases in order to widen the gap that still exists between the poor and the rich.

It is from this point of view that, mobile phone communication companies operating in the country established ‘Money Transfer Technology (MTT) systems whose major focus is to boost national economy.

With the introduction of MTT interoperable network in Tanzania, commercial banks which form part of country’s economy have been flourishing as customers make regular transactions to cater for their daily business needs.

Interoperability refers to the ability of different information technology systems and software that permit the transfer of funds from one mobile account to the mobile account of yet another telecommunication company.

The mobile telecommunication companies are MIC Tanzania Ltd via TigoPesa, Vodacom Company via M-Pesa, Bhati Ltd via Airtel Money and Zantel via Ezy-Pesa respectively.

With these companies, Tigo has become the only operator in Tanzania to offer interoperability with the rest of other operating companies, and Vodacom which joined the system in late 2015 has created the largest mobile financial eco-system in Tanzania.

TigoPesa services being the most acknowledged innovative technology has enabled its customers to enjoy a greater variety of the company’s services, now have access to Africa’s first universal mobile money exchange system.

Interoperability can help businesses manage costs, increase efficiencies through shared infrastructure and increase transaction volumes. The technology is among the last to seek a solution in industry wide standards for data management.

According to financial experts the technology has highly advanced and widely used although it is currently being dominated by four mobile phone companies operating in the country. The system has proved successful with the help of their potential customers who use their mobile phone handsets for easy facilitation.

It is now clear from the working systems that, “all cell phone companies operating in the country have merged with the main objectives of expanding the interoperability eco-systems in Tanzania’s mobile financial inclusion”.

An interoperable network already set up by mobile phone communication companies, aims at increasing the country’s economy by unifying financial systems which eases banking activities for the promotion of national economic development activities.

According to a Dar es Salaam based financial expert Mr. Ruan Swanepoel the MTT service technology is able to move funds in customers’ mobile wallets to boost mobile financial service ecosystem in Tanzania.

He believes that the interoperability is crucial to the success of mobile money and the wider goal of increasing financial inclusion. It is also a fundamental building block towards constructing a digital economy, enabling merchants and other start-ups to participate in the financial services ecosystem”.

Interoperability in Tanzania today is not exclusive to mobile operators, and also includes more than 25 banks. The country’s 16 million mobile financial users transact the equivalent of more than 50 percent of Tanzania’s GDP each month.

“Thanks to this growing network, Tanzania is now the leading place for mobile money in east Africa, overtaking Kenya

This model, which has the approval of Tanzania’s central bank, the Bank of Tanzania (BOT), allows all Tanzanian mobile money operators to create powerful new loyalty incentives for customers.

The Bank of Tanzania (BOT) says that, with the on-going technology the total balance of trust accounts held in commercial banks in the country which backs through mobile payment services has amounted to TSh.448.3 billion as at the end of January 2015.

BOT’s Director of National Payment Systems Bernard Dadi says that the number of registered active mobile payment services users for mobile phone companies who facilitated such financial transaction reached 14.2 million out of 38.8 million registered accounts.


According to him, “such meteoric rise has caused a tremendous development impact on the conventional banking services by enhancing their operations which in turn is a boost to national economy”.

This is contrary to the beliefs of many business stakeholders in the country who think that the persisting mobile money transfer technology would kill banking services as most customers divert their transactions and prefer the use of mobile money transfer services.

However, the BOT says that such services in the country has also improved liquidity in the banking system as the money which is circulating electronically are backed by funds deposited in trust accounts held by commercial banks operating in the country.

According to BOT officer, the system platform has enabled some banks to partner with the mobile payment service providers where the banks acts as agents for providing cash out services.

East Africa regional economic integration is a major development strategy that without mobile money transfer technology, to a certain extent trade across the border is rendered inefficient and ineffective as well. According to Dadi, with the cross-border mobile money transactions currently in place, more opportunities for business will be created for Tanzanian small-scale entrepreneurs.

In addition, the interoperability systems among mobile phone companies is expected to go at a higher scale and hence bring down transaction costs and fair competition to service providers which will result in better quality services, he said.

Statistics from the Bank of Tanzania (BOT) shows that, Tanzania is among the leading countries in the world in using mobile phones to pay and receive money.

Official records show that there are more than 25 million subscribers with access to mobile money transfer technology which is accommodated by all mobile phone companies operating in the country, of which nine million are active users of the accounts undertaking at least a transaction per month.

In just four years, from 2009 to 2013, the usage of non-bank formal financial services, mainly mobile financial services, increased from just under 7 percent to almost 44 percent, bringing the rate of financial inclusion from around 16 percent to close to 58 percent as per Financial Sector Deepening Trust.

By Kenneth Ofumbi, Tuesday, July 19th, 2016

http://busiweek.com/index1.php?Ctp=2&pI=5402&pLv=3&srI=69&spI=221&cI=11
 
Kwa Kweli TZ mko nyuma sana mbele yetu sisi mambo ya mobile money transfer ilikua 2006 saizi ishashika mizizi nyie ndio mnaanza juzi tu.mtazidi kufuata nyao zetu bado
 
google tu ujionee mwenyewe utamu wa mpesa .kenya saizi hatuna haja ya kupanga foleni kwenye benki .sisi tunatoa pesa au kutuma kwa benki kutumia mpesa nyie hamjafika hapo bado mgali nyuma sana
 
Kenyans transacted close to a trillion shillings on their mobile phones in the first three months of 2016, that's 20 trillion shillings kwa pesa za madafu, Cashless mobile money in numbers | Century Community safaricom moves almost 3 billion daily, thats 60 billion hela za madafu, hii tu ni enough evidence ya penetration ya mobile banking, toka hapo fanya research kijana.
do u understand this statement? Ama lugha ya Queen ilikushinda? hizi ni zile zilizokuwa deposited in banks from mobile money transfer bado zile zilizokuwa transferred from one mobile fone to another! Soma tena kijana na uelewe...!

BOT’s Director of National Payment Systems Bernard Dadi says that the number of registered active mobile payment services users for mobile phone companies who facilitated such financial transaction reached 14.2 million out of 38.8 million registered accounts.
 
do u understand this statement? Ama lugha ya Queen ilikushinda? hizi ni zile zilizokuwa deposited in banks from mobile money transfer bado zile zilizokuwa transferred from one mobile fone to another! Soma tena kijana na uelewe...!

BOT’s Director of National Payment Systems Bernard Dadi says that the number of registered active mobile payment services users for mobile phone companies who facilitated such financial transaction reached 14.2 million out of 38.8 million registered accounts.
Give us the total value of money transacted in Tanzania via Mobile Money and we'll compare it with Kenyan. Stop beating around the bush.
 

NairobiWalker

Tanzania in mobile money ‘first’ for Africa
18 FEB 2016

mobile-payments-500x500.png

Vodacom joined Tigo, Airtel and Zantel in a pioneering interoperability scheme for mobile money in Tanzania.

In 2014, Tigo, Airtel and Zantel agreed to enable their customers to send and receive money across their networks. After announcing it would join last year, Vodacom has now implemented the scheme.

Tanzania becomes Africa’s first country with full interoperability for P2P money transfers, according to a statement issued by three of the operators.

Interoperability means more traffic and hence revenue, at least that’s the argument of Tigo, Airtel and Zantel, which have seen off-network transactions grow 3.5 times since 2014.

Tanzania, like neighbouring Kenya, is a case study for mobile money with high usage levels. There are more than 16 million mobile financial users in Tanzania.

http://www.mobileworldlive.com/money/news-money/tanzania-in-mobile-money-first-for-africa/
 
use google! Give us the money deposited in banks from mobile money transfer in Kenya!
You can't open a thread without evidence and ask me to google it for you. You claimed Tanzania has overtaken Kenya, please bring the evidence. We've already proved to you that Kenya transacted $10 billion in the first three months of 2016. Give us the figures for Tanzania to prove your point or keep quiet.
 
NairobiWalker
Tanzania in mobile money ‘first’ for Africa
18 FEB 2016

mobile-payments-500x500.png

Vodacom joined Tigo, Airtel and Zantel in a pioneering interoperability scheme for mobile money in Tanzania.

In 2014, Tigo, Airtel and Zantel agreed to enable their customers to send and receive money across their networks. After announcing it would join last year, Vodacom has now implemented the scheme.

Tanzania becomes Africa’s first country with full interoperability for P2P money transfers, according to a statement issued by three of the operators.

Interoperability means more traffic and hence revenue, at least that’s the argument of Tigo, Airtel and Zantel, which have seen off-network transactions grow 3.5 times since 2014.

Tanzania, like neighbouring Kenya, is a case study for mobile money with high usage levels. There are more than 16 million mobile financial users in Tanzania.

Wewe wacha kutapatapa na kukwepa swali. Nipe figures baba. How much has Tanzania transacted in 2016?
 
Vodacom joined Tigo, Airtel and Zantel in a pioneering interoperability scheme for mobile money in Tanzania.

Naombeni ufafanuzi kwa lugha ya Nyerere , hiyo interoperability scheme ndo nin? au ndo hii huduma ya kutuma pesa kwenda mtandao wowote kwa gharama ileile ?
 
You can't open a thread without evidence and ask me to google it for you. You claimed Tanzania has overtaken Kenya, please bring the evidence. We've already proved to you that Kenya transacted $10 billion in the first three months of 2016. Give us the figures for Tanzania to prove your point or keep quiet.
Tanzania’s fintech and mobile money transform business practice
Local operators are competing to deliver innovative financial services

Read next:
Tanzania’s new president promises to shake things up July 13, 2016
Calling the market: a sugar cane juice vendor at a Zanzibar market © ISTOCK
Print this page
0
July 13, 2016
by: John Aglionby in Dar es Salaam

Ramadhani Saidi Gereza is a barometer for the way mobile phone technology is changing Tanzania.

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The engine oil seller in Dar es Salaam’s Kariakoo market says mobile money has transformed his business. “People from upcountry used to send cash by bus and I had to go further to collect their money,” he says. “Now I don’t have to. It’s much more efficient.”

Yet it is not all good news. The country’s eight mobile operators offer various incentives to attract customers, but they do not always deliver, Mr Gereza says. “Bonus payments [for customers] are delayed or we don’t get them so I tell my city customers to go and get cash and pay with that [instead].”

These glitches are a result of the continuous innovation the operators feel compelled to adopt as they compete in one of the most promising markets in sub-Saharan Africa.

Johannesburg-listed Vodacom, which is majority owned by Vodafone, is the largest mobile operator by subscriber numbers. Its main rivals are Tigo, a brand name of Stockholm-listed Millicom, and India’s Bharti Airtel. Together, the three operators control some 90 per cent of the market of 34m active mobile contracts out of a population of 55m.

The GSMA, a global body representing operators, predicts Tanzania will be among the top seven subscriber markets in sub-Saharan Africa in the next five years.

Mobile money is the main battleground. While Kenya’s M-pesa has won international plaudits for its groundbreaking mobile money system, Tanzania has arguably overtaken its northern neighbour in the depth of its mobile money market.

Enter the FT’s Future of Fintech Awards
The awards seek to recognise the companies and projects with the ability to bring lasting change to the financial services

The World Bank reported last year there were more mobile money accounts per 1,000 adults in Tanzania than anywhere else in Africa. Interoperability, where people using one network can send money to mobile wallets of people using another, is now complete after Vodacom joined other networks earlier this year. Customers of Tigo, meanwhile, can also send money to Tigo customers in neighbouring Rwanda.

“Mobile money is so successful because the competition is cash, not the banks,” says Diego Gutierrez, Tigo’s general manager for Tanzania. Some 60 per cent of adults have mobile money wallets in the country, while only 15 per cent have bank accounts, Tigo says.

“I believe we’re just scratching the surface,” Mr Gutierrez adds. “Fintech is going to drive the development of mobile financial services. I believe that Tanzania is showing the way as to where mobile money is going. If it’s not the most advanced it’s one of the most advanced markets.”

Mobile money is so successful because the competition is cash, not the banks

Diego Gutierrez
Among the innovations that Tigo has introduced is paying customers to keep money in their mobile wallets. It has paid customers a total of $25m in profit distribution — it insists it is not interest — in the past two years and the banks are feeling the impact.

“Two years ago you wouldn’t have got interest on anything short of a fixed deposit,” says Ruan Swanepoel, the company’s head of mobile financial services for Africa. “Now [customers] get up to 5 per cent on a current account. I firmly believe that’s because of the mobile money market.”

Mobile loans are also booming. Vodacom announced last month that in the two years since it launched its M-Pawa loans and savings facility, 4.9m Tanzanians have borrowed 39bn Tanzanian shillings ($19.5m), with monthly loans now above 4bn shillings.

Operating in Tanzania is not always easy, however. At 36 per cent, the country has the highest rate of consumer tax on mobile phone ownership in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the GSMA. The regional average is 20 per cent.

The operators, who have invested more than $1bn over the past five years, are also taxed heavily. In 2013-14, the last financial year for which there are data, operators paid $540m in taxes, equivalent to almost half their revenues, the GSMA said. Meanwhile, the turnover of the mobile sector directly contributed about 4 per cent of Tanzanian GDP that financial year, yet it contributed more than 11 per cent of national tax revenues.

Media tycoon, one of Tanzania’s richest businesspeople, sees hope for end to graft

Last month the government announced that operators would have to list 25 per cent of their subsidiaries’ shares on the Dar es Salaam stock exchange by January 1. The decision, which appears to reverse an informal agreement with the main operators, is part of a government strategy to squeeze more money from the private sector. Ministers have said the measure would help the government keep track of the revenue companies generate.

While the central bank and government have been very proactive in supporting mobile money, there has been less government encouragement of economies of scale — such as making infrastructure-sharing mandatory — which is common in other markets.

If these hurdles are denting the operators’ enthusiasm for Tanzania, it does not appear to be showing.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016. All rights reserved. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.

Tanzania’s fintech and mobile money transform business practice - FT.com
 
Let me make a clear point so that people stop being lied to by this Geza Ulole
According to researches by infograph, Tanzanian customers have multiple mobile money accounts unlike Kenyans who only have a single account. In Tanzania, a single person will have an account in Vodacom, Tigo, Ezy Pesa and Aurtel Money while in Kenya somebody only has Safaricom's MPesa with a few customers having both MPesa and Airtel Money.

The result is Tanzania seems to have more accounts than Kenya while in real sense, the active accounts in Kenya are almost double those in Tanzania and they transact way more money.

Wenye uelewa waelewe.
 
Tanzania’s fintech and mobile money transform business practice
Local operators are competing to deliver innovative financial services

Read next:
Tanzania’s new president promises to shake things up July 13, 2016
Calling the market: a sugar cane juice vendor at a Zanzibar market © ISTOCK
Print this page
0
July 13, 2016
by: John Aglionby in Dar es Salaam

Ramadhani Saidi Gereza is a barometer for the way mobile phone technology is changing Tanzania.

Sample the FT's top stories for a week
Receive a free daily email briefing containing the 3 top stories from one of our top news themes.

Select the topic you are interested in:
Email address:
Invalid email

By signing up you confirm that you have read and agree to the terms and conditions, cookie policy and privacy policy.
Unsubscribe at any time. Free stories only last for 1 week.

The engine oil seller in Dar es Salaam’s Kariakoo market says mobile money has transformed his business. “People from upcountry used to send cash by bus and I had to go further to collect their money,” he says. “Now I don’t have to. It’s much more efficient.”

Yet it is not all good news. The country’s eight mobile operators offer various incentives to attract customers, but they do not always deliver, Mr Gereza says. “Bonus payments [for customers] are delayed or we don’t get them so I tell my city customers to go and get cash and pay with that [instead].”

These glitches are a result of the continuous innovation the operators feel compelled to adopt as they compete in one of the most promising markets in sub-Saharan Africa.

Johannesburg-listed Vodacom, which is majority owned by Vodafone, is the largest mobile operator by subscriber numbers. Its main rivals are Tigo, a brand name of Stockholm-listed Millicom, and India’s Bharti Airtel. Together, the three operators control some 90 per cent of the market of 34m active mobile contracts out of a population of 55m.

The GSMA, a global body representing operators, predicts Tanzania will be among the top seven subscriber markets in sub-Saharan Africa in the next five years.

Mobile money is the main battleground. While Kenya’s M-pesa has won international plaudits for its groundbreaking mobile money system, Tanzania has arguably overtaken its northern neighbour in the depth of its mobile money market.

Enter the FT’s Future of Fintech Awards
The awards seek to recognise the companies and projects with the ability to bring lasting change to the financial services

The World Bank reported last year there were more mobile money accounts per 1,000 adults in Tanzania than anywhere else in Africa. Interoperability, where people using one network can send money to mobile wallets of people using another, is now complete after Vodacom joined other networks earlier this year. Customers of Tigo, meanwhile, can also send money to Tigo customers in neighbouring Rwanda.

“Mobile money is so successful because the competition is cash, not the banks,” says Diego Gutierrez, Tigo’s general manager for Tanzania. Some 60 per cent of adults have mobile money wallets in the country, while only 15 per cent have bank accounts, Tigo says.

“I believe we’re just scratching the surface,” Mr Gutierrez adds. “Fintech is going to drive the development of mobile financial services. I believe that Tanzania is showing the way as to where mobile money is going. If it’s not the most advanced it’s one of the most advanced markets.”

Mobile money is so successful because the competition is cash, not the banks

Diego Gutierrez
Among the innovations that Tigo has introduced is paying customers to keep money in their mobile wallets. It has paid customers a total of $25m in profit distribution — it insists it is not interest — in the past two years and the banks are feeling the impact.

“Two years ago you wouldn’t have got interest on anything short of a fixed deposit,” says Ruan Swanepoel, the company’s head of mobile financial services for Africa. “Now [customers] get up to 5 per cent on a current account. I firmly believe that’s because of the mobile money market.”

Mobile loans are also booming. Vodacom announced last month that in the two years since it launched its M-Pawa loans and savings facility, 4.9m Tanzanians have borrowed 39bn Tanzanian shillings ($19.5m), with monthly loans now above 4bn shillings.

Operating in Tanzania is not always easy, however. At 36 per cent, the country has the highest rate of consumer tax on mobile phone ownership in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the GSMA. The regional average is 20 per cent.

The operators, who have invested more than $1bn over the past five years, are also taxed heavily. In 2013-14, the last financial year for which there are data, operators paid $540m in taxes, equivalent to almost half their revenues, the GSMA said. Meanwhile, the turnover of the mobile sector directly contributed about 4 per cent of Tanzanian GDP that financial year, yet it contributed more than 11 per cent of national tax revenues.

Media tycoon, one of Tanzania’s richest businesspeople, sees hope for end to graft

Last month the government announced that operators would have to list 25 per cent of their subsidiaries’ shares on the Dar es Salaam stock exchange by January 1. The decision, which appears to reverse an informal agreement with the main operators, is part of a government strategy to squeeze more money from the private sector. Ministers have said the measure would help the government keep track of the revenue companies generate.

While the central bank and government have been very proactive in supporting mobile money, there has been less government encouragement of economies of scale — such as making infrastructure-sharing mandatory — which is common in other markets.

If these hurdles are denting the operators’ enthusiasm for Tanzania, it does not appear to be showing.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016. All rights reserved. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.

Tanzania’s fintech and mobile money transform business practice - FT.com

Wewe acha kujifanya zuzu. Mbona unakwepa swali? Nimekuuliza the total value of Transactions, acha kuniletea number of accounts wakati unajua Tanzania watu wana multiple accounts. Pia mimi sijakuuliza benefits zenye tigo inapea customers. Nimekuuliza total value of transactions.
 
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