What the future of online payments looks like for Tanzania
Over the last decade there’s been a flood of innovative technology that is changing the payment industry. Gone are the days of expensive, slow, and outdated methods that involved paper, and even physically swiping your credit or debit card. Checks and cash are now on the decline and are being favored by electronic methods that are less expensive, faster, and more secure.Here’s a look at what the future holds for the payments industry as innovation and technology continues to rapidly advance. You may even be surprised to learn that this tech is already here and being used on a daily basis.
Mobile Payments
No surprise here. Mobile usage is exploding. And that trend will continue with online payments as technology continues to advance and younger users embrace mobile usage.Tanzania is one of the world leaders in mobile money transfers (mobile phone-based money transfer), with 44% of adults having access to it and a total of 16m subscribers. Mobile money, also referred to as M-Pesa, was first introduced in Tanzania in 2008. Since then, over 40m mobile money accounts have been registered making 95m mobile money transactions per month in total, transacting an average of USD 1.6b per month. 43% of adults are using these services to pay bills, make transfers to family and friends and conduct business transactions. Mobile money penetration rates in Tanzania have reached 65% in urban areas and about 25% in rural areas. 32% of the 52m population use exclusively mobile money as financial services while only 2% have an active traditional bank account. Given that only a small minority of the Tanzanian population has access to formal banking services, the consumer’s unimpaired ability to use mobile money services rather than being required to travel long distances to bank branches to make transactions in person reduces transaction costs and increases the efficiency of the economy.
DUSUPAY has positioned itself in a position such that wherever the future of online payments is going it can still have the ideal mode of payment through its integrating with biggest players in mobile money game in Tanzania.