Airtel has launched its mobile money, the Airtel money, in Sierra Leone in a bid to make it possible for the people in the country to send and receive money using their phones and without the need for a bank account.
Even though it’s not the first time Sierra Leoneans will have such a service, Airtel aims to spread mobile money throughout the country as Splash Mobile, the first mobile money in the country, is currently not countrywide.
To use the service, users in Sierra Leone are required to register at the – countrywide — Airtel shops with their valid identification cards as well as fill bio data forms with personal details.
Airtel claims Airtel Money is safe and password-protected through state-of-the-art security systems, Airtel says.
Speaking during the launch, Airtel’s acting managing director Keith Tukei said Airtel Sierra Leone is committed to providing its customers with solutions, such as this one, which removes the barriers to financial services and gives the customers the freedom to do what they want in life.
The service will allow direct transfer of funds from one Airtel mobile user to another as well as allowing them to make bill payments, top up their phones airtime and do mobile banking.
“What makes Airtel Money even more exciting is the fact that it gives additional functionality to our mobile phones, a device most of us carry around with us today. The world is gradually moving to a cashless economy and Airtel Money is strategically positioned to make it happen in Sierra Leone,” Tapsir N’jai, Head of Airtel Money, said.
“Mobile commerce has completely transformed the face of banking, and services such as Airtel Money, give a large segment of the unbanked population easy access to financial services,” Tukei said.
Airtel money has been working in East Africa for nearly five years for airtime top ups, sending and receiving money, payment of utility bills and accessing bank accounts. In West Africa, the Airtel has also provided customers with access to deposit and withdraw cash, money transfers, banking services and pay bills.
The first ever Sierra Leone mobile money service Splash Mobile Money was launched in late 2009. It is however mostly concentrated in the country’s urban areas. Splash Mobile Money allows users to send cash to other people using simple instructions, which they send to Splash via text message.
Mobile money has helped rural populations access financial services in developing countries. New research by the World Bank says a third of the world’s poor do not have bank accounts.
