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 Money Transfer through Cellphones - (Electronic/Airtime Cash) |
Elaeti.nam
Number Posts: 272
Last Post: 05.01.2009, 15:32
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| Monday, 01. September 2008 at 14:07 |
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Once I was boarding a bus (IVECO) from Ondangwa to Windhoek. I observed an interesting conversation between the a Driver and one of the Prospective Passengers Henghembe. Henghembe did not have cash on him but offered to transfer Airtime worth N$115-00 to the Driver's Cellphone as a payment for the trip to Windhoek.
Henghembe tried by all means to convince the Driver for this transaction to take place. But the Driver felt that He was working for money not airtime. So the poor guy had to be left behind.
This incident gave me something to think about on the long journey. The challenge here is that one can be able to convert cash into airtime and transfer it to another cellphone, but airtime cannot be transferred back into cash. If it was possible it would create a new and effective way of transferring cash. WHY NOT?
SURFING on the net revealed that such a system already exist in Kenya and it was recently launched in Tanzania in the form of M-PESA. The system was introduced to Kenya by Safaricom a cellphone operator there and subsidiary of Vodafone as a Corporate Social Responsibility aimed at reaching Millenium Development goals. Adapting a principle that, increased money movement among the people reduces poverty. They realised that money transfer through cellphones can involve more people into money movement without having to own a bank account.
M-PESA Allows users to purchase and cash-in e-money at widely distributed M-Pesa agents' kiosk. So if we had M-Pesa in Namibia, we should'nt have left Henghembe in Ondangwa. And just imagine how convinient it would be to send money home (or receive for that matter).
Let's hope the next offer from our competing mobile operators MTC and Cell One who are currently dishing out free smses would be Namibia's own version of M-Pesa.
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