Standard Chartered Bank has partnered with MTN Uganda Limited, a leading mobile money provider in Uganda, to launch Straight2Bank Wallet in the country.
First introduced by Standard Chartered in Kenya, Straight2Bank Wallet is a mobile wallet service that enables companies to make cashless payments to the MTN Mobile Money Wallets, of both banked and unbanked individuals. The Bank’s partnership with MTN will expand the coverage of Standard Chartered’s mobile wallet service in Africa, making it the sixth country in Africa where the service is available.
With the introduction of this new payment channel, Standard Chartered’s corporate clients in Uganda can now use the Bank’s Straight2Bank electronic banking platform to make payments directly into an individual’s MTN Mobile Money wallet. This allows clients to effectively reach out to their beneficiaries with timely payments, while mitigating the risks of fraud and theft associated with cash payments.
More than half of Uganda’s population operates mobile money accounts, providing an ideal platform for companies to deliver safe and timely payments directly to individual beneficiaries.
Phrase Lubega, MTN’s General Manager for Mobile Financial Services said: “Mobile wallets are especially useful for companies such as; development organisations, international organisations, agricultural companies and fast-moving consumer goods companies which process high volumes of individual payments to beneficiaries such as; aid workers, trainers, policy holders and farmers. This partnership provides immense opportunity for such companies and organisations to make payments directly to the final beneficiaries. MTN continues to provide Mobile Money innovations to support our partners and we are very excited about this partnership with Standard Chartered Bank.”
Standard Chartered CEO Herman Kasekende commended the collaboration with MTN saying it will enable greater financial inclusion in Uganda by allowing the Bank to extend its financial services countrywide.
Kasekende said: “The Ugandan government is working towards a cashless economy, to maximise operational efficiencies and mitigate the risks associated with cash payments. Standard Chartered remains committed to creating partnerships which not only enhance the local financial sector’s proposition and infrastructure, but also improves our customers’ experience and operational efficiencies.”
Global Head of Client Access and Digitisation, Transaction Banking at Standard Chartered, Gautam Jain, added: “We’ve come a long way in our journey to provide simpler, safer and easier access to financial services for our corporate clients and their beneficiaries in Africa and today marks another important milestone for us. We remain committed to our clients and the community and look to continue our efforts in increasing financial inclusion through digitisation across our markets in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.”
To date Standard Chartered has delivered the benefits of Straight2Bank Wallet to corporates in 11 markets within the Bank’s global footprint, namely Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, Ghana, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. The Bank aims to launch the product in more markets by the end of 2016.
Source: ClassFMonline
