Bank of Kigali, MTN in new mobile money deal

BK COO Lawson Naibo (L) and MTN CEO Khaled Mikkawi announcing the mobile money partnership. (photo Bruno Birakwate)

Bank of Kigali, Rwanda’s largest commercial bank by market share and assets has partnered with the country’s leading telecoms operator MTN, to offer mobile money services.

A statement issued after the unveiling of the new partnership on Thursday said under the partnership, BK will offer MTN mobile money subscribers a full range of services such account opening, cash deposits, transfers and withdrawals.

BK enters into this partnership with 56 branches country-wide that will help take mobile money services to Rwandans, most of whom have no access to financial services.

MTN pioneered the mobile money platform in Rwanda in February 2010 and has since transacted volumes of over Frw 70 billion, the chief executive officer, Khaled Mikkawi said.

“This is probably the biggest partnership between a telecom and a financial institution in Rwanda. We remain committed to bringing financial services closer to the people and we believe this partnership will further expand the potential that mobile money services have on banking the unbanked,” Lawson Naibo the Chief Operating Officer, BK said.

About 45% of households in Rwanda have access to mobile phones. “MTN mobile money can leverage our extensive branch network to increase the penetration of their service, while we can capitalize on the increased footfall to bring these customers into the formal banking sector,” Naibo added.

Posted by Staff Reporter on Jun 29 2012. Filed under Business, Daily News, Other News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.