Telecom firms are taking advantage of advances in information and communication technologies to rollout a myriad of customer-friendly products to grow their customer base.

Tigo Rwanda on its part, is using ICTs to rollout a mobile savings product that targets the unbanked masses in partnership with microfinance bank, Urwego Opportunity Bank (UOB) .

Tongai Maramba, the Tigo general manager, said the product, "Tigo Sugira” allows Tigo Cash customers to save at an interest rate of seven per cent. The interest will be calculated daily and will be paid on a quarterly basis.

"Using Tigo Cash’s large customer base, Tigo Sugira will reach people who have been previously excluded from the financial sector,” he said during the launch of the product at Galaxy Hotel in Kiyovu, Kigali on Tuesday.

He said Tigo Cash clients will just have to present their identification card numbers to be able to transfer funds from their Tigo Cash accounts to their UOB-based savings accounts and vice-versa, using their phones.

Tigo customers can sign up and open an account (for free and within minutes) directly from their mobile by dialing *200*11# and selecting Tigo Sugira. All they need is a Tigo Cash account and a national ID. Customers can then instantly deposit and withdraw money from their savings account through Tigo Cash.

Tiney Mawocha, the UOB chief executive officer, noted that partnering with telecoms is the best way banks can easily reach out to the financially-excluded, "given the need to increase savings”.

"At UOB, we have a higher percentage of savers than borrowers so the platform will be a good opportunity for people to save,” he said.

Tongai said the product was designed to enable clients do as many transactions without incurring any cost.

He echoed Mawocha, saying Tigo Sugira is an important tool towards achieving the country’s Vision 2020 goal of financial inclusion.

The move comes hot on the heels of Airtel Money’s micro-loans facility launched last week, where clients can borrow up to Rwf50,000, payable in two weeks.

While presiding over the event, Didier Nkurikiyimfura, the director for Information Communication Technology (ICT) at the Ministry of Youth and ICT, said the country has over 70 per cent mobile phone penetration rate, noting that this has had an impact on mobile financial services, which enables firms to be innovative.

"There is an additional value for people since it’s no longer just about depositing money, but also earning an interest on it,” he said.

He added that while transacting using the phone, customers are not only given the convenience and assured of the security, they are also able to build on their credibility with their transactions recorded which gives them an upper hand while bargaining for cheaper loans.

business@newtimes.co.rw