Tanzania: Vodacom Customers Reap 4bn/ - Interest

VODACOM Tanzania PLC has announced that it will dish out 3.92bn/- dividends to its M-Pesa customers who have used the service over the past year.

The dividend payment covers the first quarter of the company's fiscal year.

Speaking on this, Vodacom Tanzania PLC M-Commerce Director Epimack Mbeteni said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the profit would be paid to all customers, retail agents and other M-Pesa business partners who would receive payment based on transactions made via their mobile wallets.

"Our mobile money service, M-Pesa, continues being a remarkable success story, delivering significant social and financial value to Tanzanians. We have seen substantial growth on the M-Pesa platform with more customers, agents, merchants and institutions transacting around 100bn/- each day. In line with regulations of BoT, interest earned from the deposit is periodically shared with the customers. Today, we are happy to share a dividend of 3.9bn/- (equivalent to $1.6m) with our over 11 million customers across the country," he said.

Vodacom Tanzania PLC has over 11 million customers on its M-Pesa platform, commanding a market share of 40 per cent, according to recent Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) figures.

The company has so far paid out a total of 143.5bn/- (over 62 Million US dollars) as interest pay out since July 2015 when Bank of Tanzania enacted the regulation.

Mr Mbeteni added that the profit share per customer was calculated as per BoT circular and would depend on, among other things, the level of activity they would have had on M-Pesa for the period under review.

In 2018, Vodacom M-Pesa was awarded GSMA Mobile Money Certification (MMC) after passed by 100 per cent in the following categories: safeguarding of customer funds, service security, safeguarding of customer data and privacy, and mitigation against money laundering, terrorist financing, and fraud risks.

In Tanzania, M-Pesa is one of the very first mobile money products to enter the market in 2008. Today, the innovation has helped the country attain its over 70 per cent financial inclusion index up from 15 per cent in 2008.

The Vodacom M-Pesa platform is the most advanced in the country offering tailor-made products suited for the Tanzanian market which has increased financial inclusion and stimulated economic activity across the country.

Such products include Songesha - an overdraft facility, M-Kopa - a group savings account, Lipa Kwa M-Pesa - allowing C2B transactions, M-Pawa - a savings and loans platform and many more.

"We will continue leading in innovation, bringing more Tanzanians into an inclusive digital economy, increasing the number of customers using our mobile money offerings and expanding our enterprise services, focusing on strategic partnerships and maintaining a widest range of services that make payments faster, easier and more convenient and safer for businesses and individuals alike," Mr Mbeteni concluded.

SOURCE:TANZANIA DAILY NEWS