United Bank for Africa (UBA) will introduce mobile banking facilities to boost the penetration of banking services in Uganda, according to Uganda’s daily, The Monitor.
Joseph Arinaitwe, UBA Uganda head of electronic banking, said that the bank is keen on introducing a new service that will allow its customers to access financial services and perform transactions via mobile phones.
“We have already done the test and it works. We have also been approved by the Bank of Uganda to carry on the service,” he said.
The service, branded UBA Mobile Money, will be introduced in the following two to three months. Among the services to be offered, UBA customers will be able to convert cash on their personal and business accounts to e-cash in virtual accounts.
The bank will work closely with customers like MTN Mobile Money and Zain’s Zap.
It is estimated that less than 20% of Uganda’s population have conventional bank accounts, so the opportunity for alternative service providers is huge. For more information, including other existing and planned m-banking/m-payment services in the country, see www.budde.com.au/Research/Uganda-Mobile-Market-Overview-Statistics-Forecasts.html