HiPipo Money

Less than 10 million Bank accounts are currently operational in Uganda, compared to over 24 million Sim-cards in the market. With an estimated population of about 42 million people, the banking penetration is less than 25 per cent.

Most of these bank accounts are owned by urban dwellers, with very few in rural areas where the majority of Ugandans reside.

As such, if we are to achieve financial inclusion, it is crucial that more effort is put in converting the unbanked majority in to a banked population.

One initiative that is enhancing financial inclusion through bridging the banked-unbanked gap is community banking.

By definition, a Community Bank is according to www.wikipedia.com a depository institution that is typically locally owned and operated. “Community banks tend to focus on the needs of the businesses and families where the bank holds branches and offices. Lending decisions are made by people who understand the local needs of families, businesses and farmers. Employees often reside within the communities they serve.”

Community banks usually have specific products for the less-privileged groups mainly women and the youth.

The nominees for the #DIAA2019 Best Community Banking are Centenary Bank, FINCA, Post Bank Uganda, Pride Microfinance Limited, Finance Trust Bank and BRAC Uganda Bank.

All the 6 nominees have well-tailored products for the informal sector, marginalized and low income communities mainly the women, youth and people with disabilities (PWDs) largely living in rural and semi-urban areas. Such products include low interest group, women and youth loans among others.

In the ‘bold new digital world’, time is a very scarce resource with people very busy with their lives and things that improve or excite them or both.

As such, the lesser time one spends to accomplish a particular task, the more chances that s/he has to indulge in other things.

Before the introduction of Automated Teller Machines (ATM) cards, customers would queue in banking halls for hours before they would withdraw their hard earned monies.

This changed with the introduction of ATM cards that enable customers to conveniently access their funds from hundreds of ATM stations across the country.

It even became more interesting with the introduction of interconnected cards which would enable customers to visit any ATM station, include those of other banks and access their monies.

While there are Inter-switch cards, there are also VISA and Mastercards. The last two are internationally accepted, meaning that a customer with an active VISA or Mastercard can access and withdraw funds even when s/he is outside Uganda. In a nutshell, a trader is able to travel to China with just a card and withdraw money on arrival in Hangzhou.

Minus enabling local and international cash access, these cards also facilitate payments for goods and services. Be it on Amazon, Jumia, ITunes, Tidal, Apple Stores, Facebook and Twitter Ads; one can easily pay using their VISA or Mastercard. Indeed, the VISA / Mastercard is the ‘in thing’ and banks without them are losing clientele by the day.

The category for Best Cards Payments seeks to reward a bank who ‘ATM Card’ services have been tried, tested and perceived to be more reliable than its peers. Not listed in any order of prominence, the nominees are Centenary Bank, DFCU Bank, Stanbic Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and United Bank of Africa (UBA).

In the days of our great grandparents, forefathers and mothers, barter trade was the mode of payment. This involved the exchange of goods and services for other goods and services.

Barter trade was replaced by ‘cash money’ that allowed people to pay for goods and services in cash. This revolutionized trade and business as someone would pay for the exact value of the product and service that she/he was purchasing.

Even though cash payments have been very popular, they continue to reduce by the day thanks to new solutions being introduced on the market.

Developed economies are largely cashless while developing countries like Uganda are equally heading that direction. www.cardguru.com defines a cashless economy as a financial environment that minimizes the use of physical cash by providing alternative channels for making payments and fosters a clean and digital economic culture. Under such a culture, people prefer electronic money and transactions to moving with hard cash.

This culture is fast growing in Uganda with hundreds of people now comfortable paying for goods and services using digital payments in addition to saving more in banks and mobile phones.

In the 2019 Digital Impact Awards Africa, five payment solutions are competing for the overall honour of best mobile payment. Listed not in any particular order, they are PESAPAL, Beyonic, Payway, MTN MoMopay, and Pebuu.

The overall winner for Best Mobile Payment will be determined by a Jury/Research Panel assessment and public survey/vote.

Under the theme #IncludeEveryone, Digital Impact Awards Africa is a platform that promotes Digital Inclusion, Financial Inclusion and Cybersecurity. Precisely; the Awards seek to recognize, celebrate and appreciate different individuals and organizations that are spearheading the use of digital mediums to better serve their communities.

HiPipo looks forward to host all the nominees and other players come 20^th September 2019 at Kampala Serena Hotel. Contact the #DIAA2019 team to book your attendance package Standard ($1,595) for awards attendance Or Corporate ($3,450), Corporate Branded ($5,200) that will give you access to Include Everyone – Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit and Panel discussions with Digital Leaders