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MTN today announced that its mobile money service, MoMo will go live in January 2020, allowing customers to send, receive, save and spend money as well as pay for goods and services using their mobile phones.

The announcement comes as MTN finalised its engagements with all the relevant regulatory bodies and authorities including the South African Reserve Bank.

The mobile money service will be accessible to all consumers via USSD functionality on *120*151# (MTN customers can dial *151# for free) as well as via an app, that can be downloaded in the Google Play store and the Apple App store by 30 January 2020.

“The introduction of this mobile money service is a pivotal step in MTN’s strategy and represents MTN’s participation in the next phase of increasing convergence we are seeing between financial services and mobile technology,” enthused MTN SA CEO, Godfrey Motsa.

“We have been deliberate in selecting best of breed technology to enable MoMo. To this end MoMo will run on the Ericsson Converged Wallet and we’re exciting to be partnering with them across the Group,” he added.

According to Felix Kamenga, MTN SA Chief Officer of Mobile Financial Services, the company’s research has shown that approximately 11 million South African’s remain unbanked, while 50% of the adult population remain thinly served.

“MoMo aims to bridge this gap with this innovative mobile money offering, providing a payments solution that encourages financial inclusion,” he commented.

MTN reassured that MoMo had been through “rigorous testing,” expressing confidence that consumers will reap the benefits of our efforts in this regard.  “Our investment in our network means that we able to evolve with the ever-changing Fin-Tech landscape, making us the best network for mobile financial service,” asserted Kamenga.

Kamenga also pointed to MTN’s mobile money successes in other African countries. “We have learnt what to do as well as what not to do and we believe that MTN has significant footprint in South Africa to reach underbanked and underserved communities still heavily reliant on cash to transact.”

During the initial phase MoMo will only be available to MTN customers and offers basic services but promises further innovation in early 2020 that aims to bring even more South Africans into the digital economy.

Users of MoMo do not need to have an actual bank account but must be a South African Resident, 18 years or older, with a valid South African ID. The user also needs to be an active MTN customer to qualify for selected promotional offers.

Initial functionality of MoMo allows users to:

•    Send money to any working cell phone number in SA;

•    Buy prepaid services like electricity, data and SMS bundles.

•    Pay for purchases at selected till points.

•    Perform Cash In and Cash Out transactions at any MTN store or Mobile Money Agents.

No minimum balance will be required. There are no monthly finance charges and no automated debits.  MTN customers can get cash back every time they buy something at selected Merchants and there will be a promotional offer of 100% bonus for users who buy MTN Airtime bundles using MoMo will get a free SMS notification every time they use the service. Customers may visit nearest MTN store and speak to a MoMo Ambassador for more information.

“We see MoMo playing a significant role to both the man on the street, by empowering our customers to make positive financial decisions, as well as the South African economy by enabling enterprise development at the formal and informal level,” concluded Kamenga.