Prime
New payment platform to help airtime scratch cards dealers
The platform also offers a number of other payment solutions such as money transfer, among others. File photo
What you need to know:
- The platform, according to Ms Kimbugwe, currently deals with more than 50 banks across the globe, which makes it a reliable and efficient payment system.
Arua. A digital and payments company - Cellulant – has built a platform through which airtime distributors can continue to conduct their business ahead of a ban on airtime scratch cards.
Speaking in Kampala at the weekend, Ms Shamirah Kimbugwe, the Cellulant country manager, said a number of business people such as airtime distributors, who will no longer sell airtime scratch cards due to the Uganda Communications Commission ban, can leverage on the platform to engage in digital airtime merchandising.
The platform also offers a number of other payment solutions such as money transfer, among others.
“We are putting out a product [to replace airtime scratch cards] which allows distributors to sell airtime to all networks using one line at a handsome commission,” she said.
The payment solution comes at a time after UCC announced it will ban the sale of airtime scratch cards after June 30.
Ms Kimbugwe said the company seeks to promote financial inclusion by widening the scope through which people can conduct mobile banking, pay bills and buy insurance across Africa.
The application comes after Rise Fund, an investment vehicle signed an agreement worth $47.5m (Shs171b) to acquire a stake in Cellulant.
Cellulant is the technology company behind the operations of many digital payments systems such as mobile banking, mobile money operators, merchants, retailers and everyday consumers.
The platform, according to Ms Kimbugwe, currently deals with more than 95 banks across Africa, which makes it a reliable and efficient payment system.
Impact of tax
According to Ms Kimbugwe, the new taxes on mobile money will affect financial inclusion, given that mobile money is a major payment platform. Government, she says, must encourage creation of platforms that improve payment systems.
