UGANDA:Mobile money rates for paying utility bills increase

FEB 18,2014.

MTN Mobile Money has increased its transmission charges for payment of utility bills. The affected bills are those for National Water and Sewerage Corporation and Umeme electricity. 

For bills between sh500 to sh2500, the charges increased from sh110 to sh190 while for those ranging from sh2,501 and sh2,500 the customer will be charged sh330, a sh190 increment from sh140. The charges took effect February. 

Before, it cost a customer sh500 to pay bills ranging from sh5,000 to 45,000. Now they will pay sh1,000 for the first sh5001 to sh15,000 then pay sh1,600 for the next sh15,001 to sh30,000 and finally pay sh2,000 for the final sh30,001 to sh45,000. 

Bills ranging from 45,001 to 60,000 will now cost sh2,650 from sh550 to pay while those ranging from 60,001 to sh125,000 will cost the customer sh3,500 up from sh660. 

For bills ranging from sh125,001 to sh250,000, they will be paying sh3.950 up from sh950 while bills of 550,001 to sh500,000 will cost the customer sh5,050 up from sh1,250. 

For bills from sh500,001 to sh1m, the rate was increased from shsh3,200 to sh10,700, and for those paying bills of sh1m to sh2m the charges are sh20,500 from sh5,500. 

Bills of sh2m to sh4m will cost the client sh40,000 up from sh10,000. MTN Uganda’s chief marketing officer, Ernst Fonternel explained that this was done because the utility companies were reluctant to pay MTN for the transactions.

He said in the circumstances, the clients of the utility companies must shoulder the cost. “The companies no longer pay us for the collection of their monies. So we recoup our share from the customer,” he said