On some occasions, you might be in need of quick money and you just have no way of getting it. With the growth in the mobile money industry, telecom companies like MTN Uganda and Airtel Uganda have started providing mobile money loans. In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, and/or other entities to other individuals, organizations etc. The recipient incurs a debt, and is usually liable to pay interest on that debt until it is repaid, and also to repay the principal amount borrowed
Using MTN Uganda
MTN Uganda recently partnered with Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) to provide new service that offers its Mobile Money subscribers the option to save and access loans using their mobile phones. The service is called MoKash and it allows subscribers to activate a savings and loans account free of charge.
How to save with MTN Mokash
To use the service you have to be an MTN customer and active on MTN Mobile Money.
Dial *165*5# to get started.
You will be prompted to enter your MTN Mobile Money PIN to activate your MoKash account.
Select Savings.
Choose Option 1. Deposit
Enter the amount you wish to save followed by the PIN to confirm.
How to activate Auto savings.
You can schedule savings to happen automatically. You can choose between 3 options; daily, weekly or monthly. You can save any amount.
Dial *165*5#
Select 1. MoKash
Choose 1. Savings
Select 3: Auto Savings
Choose to activate Auto Savings
Select frequency – daily, weekly or monthly
Choose a day of the week when the auto savings is to take effect
Enter maximum amount to be deposited into your MoKash Account from your Mobile Money account
Enter your Mobile Money PIN to confirm
The minimum amount a customer can save on their MoKash account is UGX 50 to any amount. Savings earn interest ranging from 2% to 5%.
Breakdown
1 – 300,000 = 2%
300,001 – 800,000 = 3%
800,001 – 1,600,000 = 4%
> 1,600,001 =5%
How to get a loan with MTN MoKash
You can borrow up to a maximum amount of 1,000,000/- at an interest of 9% of the value borrowed.
The amount of money you can borrow is determined entirely by your credit score also referred to as the Loan Limit. This is computed based on assessments of the user’s repayment behavior, savings amount, and their use of Mobile Money as well as other MTN services.
You can check your loan limit by dialing *165*5#, then select option 1 for MoKash, 2 for loans & 3 to check credit limit.
Dial *165*5#
Select MoKash
Then Select Loans
Choose Option 1. Request a Loan
Enter the amount you wish to borrow followed by the PIN to confirm
Related Article: How to send mobile money to registered and non registered users.
Using Airtel Uganda
Telecommunications company, Airtel Uganda introduced a service to extend credit services to Ugandans via the Airtel Money platform. This service was launched in partnership with JUMO. The credit service, also known as Wewole provides a convenient way for Airtel Money customers and agents to access loan facilities and can be utilized by any Airtel Customer or Agent that is fully registered on the Airtel Money platform.
Wewole allows customers to borrow between 8,000 and 500,000 shillings and Airtel Money agents between 100,000 and 1,000,000 shillings. Wewole does not require customers and Airtel Money agents to save or provide Collateral to be able to borrow and allows movement of money between the Wewole account and Airtel Money account at no extra charge.
To use Wewole:
Dial *185#
Select 8 for Wewole
Select 1 to request a loan, 2 to repay a loan and 3 for balance inquiry.
This is not the first time that Telecom companies in Uganda have come up with products and services that are targeting the less fortunate Ugandans. Services like ‘Beerako’ by Airtel and ‘Tweweko’ by MTN have been revamped to enable subscribers borrow and share airtime.
In the words of Mr. Ronald Wakabi, the JUMO Country Manager, Uganda has a large unbanked population and we believe that it is our responsibility to ensure that they have access to the best financial products such as unsecured loans with high initial borrowing amounts. In light of the above statement, Mobile money loans are a timely addition to the digital development of Uganda.
Why has wewole refused to give me alone.