Parents and caregivers will now be able to make school fees payments via agents stationed in different parts of the country, owing to a new partnership between BK TecHouse and Rwanda Telecentre Network. Through this partnership, the subsidiary of BK Group providing technology solutions for businesses and institutions, will enroll its UrubutoPay services on Rwanda Telecentre Network (RTN) Iteme platform for agents to reach the underserved population. The UrubutoPay platform sets the benchmark in the payments and receivables industry. It initially focused on transforming digital payments within the education sector, delivering a transparent, convenient, and secure payment experience to parents and students at all education levels, from primary to university. This not only accelerated funds flow but also streamlined operational processes for school finance and bursar offices. Over time, UrubutoPay has expanded to serve a diverse range of service providers and merchants. In collaboration with RTN's extensive network of 1,600 agents who operate through Iteme, a platform that consolidates various banking and non-banking services, these initiatives are focused on simplifying the delivery of digital services by a wide array of service providers to their clients. This partnership ensures both convenience and efficiency in payment transactions. Deo Massawe, Acting Managing Director of BK TecHouse, said the main objective of this partnership is to champion efficiency, accessibility, and enhanced customer experience on thistechnology for people faced with accessibility challenges, especially in remote areas. According to him, the use of agents will reduce travel time and cost to finding the nearest bank’s branch and curb long queues, while driving digital literacy in the long run. “With the broader coverage of agents in-country, we believe that most parents in particular areas will be able to make payments easily. It is important to ensure that we continue to streamline the payment experience as much as possible and make it as painless as possible,” he noted. Paul Barera, Managing Director of RTN, said this is a win-win partnership representing an opportunity to expand the range of services offered on the network, especially to bridge the gap where people living upcountry have not yet tapped into digital services. He said the company has a team of field managers countrywide that monitors operations and engages with agents to continuously train them on system updates. RTN manages about 4,000 agents in total, in charge of providing Irembo services in the country. Currently, UrubutoPay has successfully integrated with financial institutions such as Umwalimu SACCO and Bank of Kigali to enable the seamless payment of fees for all their customers, as discussions for more banks continue. Alongside the newly introduced agent-assisted payment channel, customers have the flexibility to make payments through various other methods, including MTN Mobile Money, Airtel Money, Cards (VISA/MasterCard), and bank channels (BK App, BK Internet Banking). Furthermore, it's important to highlight that this service is offered to schools free of charge. For students, parents, and guardians, the system offers real-time payment with no need to present a physical pay slip to the school as the school is notified of the payment on a real-time basis. Students, parents, and guardians receive an immediate electronic payment receipt that the fee reached the school bank account and shows the remaining balance. For schools, the system offers easy payment collection without physical contact, reduced chances of any fraud through fake bank slips as well as ability to track and manage all fee payments. The system also generates automated text message reminders for overdue and late payments and can generate advanced analytical data reports. Massawe said that since its introduction, UrubutoPay has 450 active schools on the system and serves more than 220,000 students every year. He added that they seek to reach 1,000 schools in the next year. The system records about Rwf25 billion in transaction value every year.
