Zanzibaris in Canada fascinated by M-Pawa!

       

 Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) and Vodacom have launched a save and borrow service via mobile money in Tanzania that will open up millions to credit facilities. The banking service dubbed M-Pawa was launched by Tanzania’s president Jakaya Kikwete in Dar es Salaam on May14, 2014, as seen above

Most Zanzibaris contacted by this blog who live in Canada have expressed their fascination by the revolutionary banking service (M-PAWA) launched yesterday in Dar Es Salaam by the country’s President Hon. Mr Kikwete. The service caters for Tanzanians from all walks of life who might have so far not enjoyed banking services because of not being well-versed with the intricacies, red tapes and bureaucracy of working with formal banking system in the country. This service allows Tanzanians from urban as well as rural areas where bank branches are not available to open accounts, save and borrow money on their mobile phones at a click of a button.

Zanzibaris interviewed by this blog have called out in one voice for their only national bank in Zanzibar which is the People’s Bank of Zanzibar Limited (PBZ Ltd) to be fully integrated with such revolutionary banking services and not to be left out. PBZ Ltd is one of the oldest commercial banks in Tanzania and is fully owned by the Government of Zanzibar.

“Technology is the future. Limited resources available in Zanzibar today coupled with the right technologies is the only surest way to emancipate Zanzibar economically”, quipped some Zanzibaris contacted by this blog.

The People’s Bank of Zanzibar is not new in embracing new technologies of the Silicon Valley. Being the champion and advocate of low fee remittances to Tanzania, it joined hands in 2013 with a UK company called World Remit, which is known for its unique online money transfer services and launched its own revolutionary remittance service which can be effectuated from the comfort of one’s home in Europe, Canada and the Middle East and soon the service will be extended to USA which after the financial meltdown of 2008 is impregnable to foreign financial services.

Sources very close to PBZ Ltd speak of the bank eyeing in the very near future the expansion of its online remittance services by introducing mobile money transfers in order to encompass mobile recipients through their smartphones.This will increase the number of pay-out Agent locations throughout the country and PBZ Ltd would not need to open any branches in the hinterland of Mainland Tanzania where banking services are still the lure of many, but are non-existent.

With more than 97% of Tanzanians saying that they can access a mobile phone, PBZ Ltd is definitely on the right track.

Written for ZNK by Said Issa (Ottawa)