BUUMBA CHIMBULU writes
ATLAS MARA Zambia has launched a mobile money wallet account targeting the low income earners.
The ‘Tenga’ mobile wallet account will be conducted in partnership with Zoona to create a strong base of financial inclusion across Zambia, particularly the low income earners.
The service provides interest rate of up to 12 percent on an annual basis.
The bank’s head of retail and digital banking, Teza Ngulube, explained that a person did not need to have a bank account with Atlas Mara to access the Tenga services.
Mr Ngulube explained that a client was able to access cash from the bank’s Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) even without having a bank account with the institution.
He was speaking yesterday in Lusaka during the official launch of the product.
“This presents an opportunity for every Zambian to create a financial identity at a different level. A person is able to have an interest rate of up to 12 percent when they save in 365 days,” he said.
And bank managing director, James Koni, explained that Tenga provided financial solutions which would make transactions easier for the customer and cut across the entire Atlas Mara footprint in Zambia.
Mr Koni further explained that the bank had designed Tenga because it recognised the financial needs of the people of Zambia, cutting across the mass market.
“The launch of Tenga is an added feature to our core banking products and services as a direct response to our customer’s expectation of accessing complete financial solutions in the most convenient anywhere, anytime.
“As Atlas Mara we are committed to driving a financial inclusion agenda and Tenga mobile money will enable us service a large segment of our population previously ‘unbanked’ and provide them with an opportunity to formally enter the financial system,” he said.
Mr Koni said the partnership with Zoona which had over 1200 outlets nationwide would drive the Tenga agenda.
He said the bank was aware that Zoona’s mission was to help communities thrive as they offered financial services solutions to communities in Zambia.
