Cogebanque Mastercard holders have commended the safety and ease that come with using the electronic card to carry out financial transactions. They shared their experiences on March 9, 2021 as the Bank in partnership with Mastercard closed a three-month promotional campaign dubbed “Biroroshye Hamwe na Cogebanque Mastercard”. The campaign, aimed at encouraging the Bank’s clients to embrace cashless transactions, culminated in rewarding three most frequent users of the Mastercards. The Bank had lined up a lot of prizes for whoever uses Cogebanque debit, credit, or prepaid Mastercards while paying for goods and service like settling bills, making withdrawals or shopping online. The campaign kicked off on December 9, 2020, with the aim to encourage uptake of Cogebanque Mastercards by the public, promote frequent usage of the cards when conducting transactions as well as reward loyal clients who use the Cogebanque Mastercards to transact. Different prizes were given out during the course of the campaign some instant, others weekly, and finally awarding the lucky top grand winners. The prizes included cash, shopping vouchers, fuel vouchers, laptops, smartphones, airtime, and home appliances such as fridge. Antoine Iyamuremye, the Head of Marketing and Product Development at Cogebanque, said that the Bank rewarded over 500 customers in various parts of the country where it has branches. He observed that the Bank is happy to always reach out to its customers with its partners, indicating that it registered an increase in both new Mastercard holders and activated cards. Some of the customers who won the prizes made some 200 transactions such as withdrawing money, making payments for health services, and buying products online during the three months of the campaign, Iyamuremye indicated. “We encouraged the public to go-cashless mostly during the lockdown period, and today we are happy to announce that many of our customers have gone cashless and also activated more cards on our profile than ever before with even new customers and subscriptions,” he said. “It is our responsibility as a business to give back to our customers.” Pie Ukurikiyeyezu, one of the top winners, received a refrigerator. He said that he has been using the Cogebanque Mastercard for at least five years. He said that he used the card to conduct transactions every four days. “I bought a laptop abroad and I made an online payment using the Mastercard as it was considered the best way to make the payment. I received the laptop I wanted,” he said. He said that these cards are in line with the Government’s cashless drive especially during this Covid-19 pandemic period as they enable contactless transactions, hence helping people to protect themselves from the pandemic. Fabiora Murerwa, another customer, said that she started using the Mastercard in December 2020. “I used the Mastercard for various purposes including paying for medical services, shopping in supermarket, and withdrawing money,” pointing out that the card enables a convenient financial system that ensures swift and advanced transactions. Cogebanque has 28 branches, over 600 agents, and 36 ATMs across the country. These are supported by Mobile banking (USSD on *505# and Mobile App “Coge mBank”), Cards (Mastercards & Smart cash) and internet banking delivery channel accessible through different media.
