Zamtel wins mobile money licence

The Bank of Zambia has granted the Zambia Telecommunications Company (Zamtel) a licence to operate mobile money service in the country.

The telecoms company said the mobile money service is expected to be introduced before the end of this year.

Zamtel joins MTN Zambia and Airtel in providing mobile money services in the country. The awarding of the licence to Zamtel is expected to light up competition in the provision of mobile money services in Zambia.

Zamtel chief executive officer Dr. Mupanga Mwanakatwe said he is hopeful that the 1.4 million subscribers currently on the Zamtel network will use the service once it is launched.

“The licence has been awarded to Zamtel by the Bank of Zambia and we are hopeful that the 1.4 million Zamtel subscribers will use the service once it is launched,” Mwanakatwe said.

The Bank of Zambia said this month that it plans partnering with mobile operators in the country to boost financial inclusion through mobile money services. It said there is need for operators to double their efforts to ensure that the uptake of mobile money services reaches all the corners of the country.

Statistics from the Bank of Zambia shows that mobile money accounts in the Southern African country have already overtaken bank accounts to reach 3.4 million compared to 2 million bank accounts.

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