HARARE – Mukuru, a leading financial services provider, has introduced Mukuru Wallet, a new mobile wallet designed for Zimbabweans to bolster financial inclusion. This launch follows the company’s successful application for a Deposit-Taking Microfinance Institution (DTMFI) license from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
Leveraging Mukuru’s established trust with over three million Zimbabwean customers, the Mukuru Wallet offers a range of benefits. These include two distinct pockets for convenient local and international money transfers, secure storage of funds, and complimentary cash-outs on international transfers, all accessible directly from mobile phones.
Marc Carrie-Wilson, Send Money Home Zimbabwe CEO says: “The Mukuru Wallet is a significant development in the country because we have built a reputable brand by consistently ensuring cash availability when needed. To avoid disappointing people who travel long distances to receive their remittances, which they use for food, school fees, and other essential services, we now have 250 of our own service points. With a network stretching across urban and rural areas, we can reach more people than ever, providing constant cash availability and valuable digital solutions, such as the Mukuru Wallet, to the underserved communities.”
Mukuru Zimbabwe Financial Services CEO, Doug Tait-Knight, says: “Mukuru takes its role as a fintech driving financial inclusion seriously. With this wallet, we tap into our strength, which lies in our robust network and technology, as well as our crispy notes that are always available, making this an exciting moment in our evolution in Zimbabwe.
“The wallet environment enables us to start providing additional value such as allowing more affordable domestic money transfers, supporting safety by eliminating the need for customers to walk around with large sums of money, and providing convenience and cost savings, such as paying for electricity, buying airtime, settling DSTV bills and paying for insurance from their couch. Our use of multiple channels also ensures accessibility for our customers,” explains Tait-Knight.
While currently focusing on private end users, soon organisations will be able to partner with Mukuru to make use of its local capabilities and global footprint to facilitate payments, such as distributing money to farmers, supporting payroll for small businesses and securing traceable aid distributions. Various organisations such as Cottco and the United Nations, through the World Food Programme, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) already partner with Mukuru.
Kevin Nyakotyo, Mukuru’s Enterprise Sales Manager for Zimbabwe and Zambia, added, “Our success in the end-user sector has enabled us to set in motion plans to enter the business sector. Whether it is for tobacco or cotton, payments made to farmers are often large sums of money. The Mukuru Wallet will make receiving these large sums of money far safer because beneficiaries won’t need to draw all their cash at the same time.
“We have a mandate to educate the market based on trends we see, and with this wallet, we are reaching out to both organisations and individuals and giving them peace of mind to know their funds will be safe and can be collected at any time. They can draw an amount that suits them with full confidence the cash will be available wherever they are, whenever they need it,” says Nyakotyo.
