MTN mobile money services, which had been non-operational since the night of Tuesday, January 14, resumed around 9:30 a.m. on January 15, leaving some customers uncomfortable and businesses counting losses. Information obtained by The New Times from an anonymous source within Mobile Money Rwanda Ltd revealed that the estimated time of maintenance was delayed due to technical issues that prolonged the process. ALSO READ: Mobile Money: Businesses, individuals speak out on recent disruptions “There is a plan to introduce some new services on Momo [mobile money], which are expected to launch next week. There will be no further maintenance at that time, and the services will be fully accessible. That’s what the maintenance was all about,” the source explained. Some users who were impacted by the long maintenance of MTN’s mobile money services expressed their frustrations over the outage, which left them unable to complete essential daily tasks. ALSO READ: FEATURED: Introducing Faranga: A new app transforming mobile money in Rwanda Clementine Uwase, a 36-year-old resident of Kimironko Sector in Gasabo District, had her morning disrupted when she couldn't purchase breakfast before heading to work. “I was planning to buy breakfast using mobile money, but when the service went down, I couldn’t make any payments. I didn’t have any cash on me, so I had to go the entire morning without eating,”Uwase said. ALSO READ: Banks, govt must do more to achieve a cashless economy, experts say The unexpected interruption not only affected her physically but also added stress to her day. She explained that the service downtime made her rethink how much she relies on mobile money for even the most basic needs. Emmanuel Mugabo, a 29-year-old resident of Muhima Sector in Nyarugenge District and a bank cashier, found himself in a difficult spot when the mobile money outage prevented him from paying for his taxi moto ride to work. “I didn’t have cash to pay for my taxi moto, and when I realised that mobile money service wasn’t working, I thought I’d be stuck,” he explained. Fortunately, his driver had been aware of the service issue and informed Mugabo before they started the journey. To avoid further complications, Mugabo decided to walk, climbing for nearly an hour to reach his workplace. “I arrived late, tired, and frustrated,” he said, adding that the outage severely impacted his day, as he relies on mobile money for most of his transactions. Like Uwase, Mugabo had expected the service to be restored by 6 a.m., but the unexpected delay caused additional disruption. It was really inconvenient, Mugabo noted, stressing the importance of clear communication and timely resolution of service issues. He hopes MTN can take steps to prevent such prolonged downtimes in the future, as many people were left in difficult situations due to the extended outage. Thousands of customers currently transact across MTN mobile money services. By the end of the second quarter of 2024, there was a surge of 19.6 per cent in the number of active mobile money subscriptions, with a total of 7.6 million SIM cards making use of any mobile service within the past 90 days, an increase from 6.3 million as of June 2023. MTN Rwanda nearly controls 80 per cent of mobile money services market share, as of June 2024. Efforts to get information about the implications of the complete shutdown of mobile money services, as well as whether the regulator would sanction the telecommunications firm, were futile. However, Jean-Paul Musugi, Head of Commercial Department, MoMo Rwanda Ltd said the maintainance was aimed at improving services. “This was not just routine system maintenance; it was a significant upgrade to our system that will not only enhance the quality of our existing services and products but also introduce advanced solutions that will have a meaningful impact on people's lives,” he noted.
