MTN has launched MobileMoney, which enables the network's users to carry out a host of banking transactions and bill payments using their cellphones.
If you are an MTN subscriber, you can avoid the hassle of opening a bank account, paying your monthly bills, topping up on cellular and Telkom airtime and buying prepaid electricity, because you can now do all these things via your cellphone. So, no more long queues, endless forms to fill in and perhaps travelling long distances to get to a pay point.
The MobileMoney account enables you to pay bills, make payments to other bank accounts (either MobileMoney accounts or ordinary bank accounts), and buy electricity or airtime from MTN (for yourself or somebody else).
Currently, only MTN contract subscribers can open a MobileMoney account, an MTN Banking product which was recently launched by MTN and Standard Bank.
The banking service will be rolled out to prepaid MTN customers next year.
Mike Smith, the managing director of EasyPay, says other mobile network operators will soon also offer a similar facility.
EasyPay provides electronic fund transfer and bill payment processing services to retailers, utilities, municipalities, traffic departments, insurance companies and other organisations.
- In order to open a MobileMoney bank account, users need to buy a 32k sim card (which is required to operate the service from your cellphone).
- Inside every MTN MobileMoney pack, you will receive a free cash card, which allows you to deposit and withdraw money from an ATM.
- Internet transfers are charged at R3 (not R5), and cellphone transfers cost R3 (not R1).
- Account payments via the internet cost R3 (not R5), debit card purchases cost R1 per transaction (not R2), and payments via a cellphone are charged at R3 (not R1). You can make account payments or request a provisional statement on your MobileMoney account from your cellphone, but not from a Standard Bank ATM.
Obviously, you cannot make deposits and draw cash using your cellphone. When you open the account, you are issued with a MobileMoney CashCard or MasterCard, which allow you to make cash deposits and withdrawals from any ATM, although transaction costs are much lower if the transaction is made through a Standard Bank ATM.
With the card, you can also make deposits at any EasyPay pay point, such as Pick 'n Pay, Shoprite, Checkers, Lewis, Lifestyle Living, Best Electric, Foodworld and at certain Spar, Boxer and Score outlets. Deposits will be reflected in your account within 24 to 48 hours of making the deposit.
The MobileMoney account allows you to pay many of your bills using your cellphone.
Smith says you can use your cellphone to buy prepaid electricity and pay any account or service that uses the EasyPay system. Utilities using the system include Telkom and the SABC.
New utilities are being added on an ongoing basis, he says.
If you live in Richards Bay, Stellenbosch, Blaauwberg or Tygerberg, you can pay your municipal accounts via EasyPay.
To find out if you can pay your bill through this system, you should look out for EasyPay's logo printed on an account and for an EasyPay account number which is preceded by chevron arrows (>).
A full list of the companies whose accounts can be paid through this system appears on the EasyPay website, www.easypay.co.za or on MTN's website, www.mtnbanking.co.za
If you choose not to use your cellphone, EasyPay also offers you the same bill payment and prepaid electricity service at the same pay points where you make deposits into your MobileMoney account.
Smith says in order to buy prepaid electricity using your cellphone, you need to enter your electricity meter number when prompted by your cellphone.
You will receive an SMS confirming your transaction and providing you with a number (called a token) to input into your electricity meter.
The MobileMoney account allows you to top up your MTN "Pay as you go" account, and you can buy airtime from Vodacom, Cell C and Telkom (prepaid domestic phone vouchers), by selecting the "Buy" option on your cellphone and then selecting "Airtime".
Alwyn Burger, the director of group IT and business operations at Standard Bank, says the MTN Banking fee structure has been kept as simple as possible and there are no hidden costs. The transaction fees are flat rather than tiered according to the value of the transaction.
Furthermore, you do not need to maintain a minimum balance in your account and there is no monthly service fee.
The transaction fees vary, depending on the type of transaction and the channel you use to complete your transaction.
So, for example, a balance inquiry via your cellphone will cost you R1. It will cost you R1 through a Standard Bank ATM and R3 through another bank's ATM.
You should also be aware that if you do not have sufficient funds in your account to cover the amount you want to withdraw from your MobileMoney account, you will incur a declined transaction fee of R1 if you use a Standard Bank ATM and R3 if you use another bank's ATM. So, ensure that you know what your balance is before you try to withdraw money.
Cash deposits will cost you a minimum of R3 or one percent of the amount you are depositing - if you use a Standard Bank ATM. If you use a branch or an EasyPay pay point, cash deposits will cost you a minimum of R5 or one percent of the deposit.
Cheque deposits are free, whether you transact over the counter or via a Standard Bank ATM.
The fee for cash withdrawals varies. The cheapest way to get your hands on your cash is using a Standard Bank ATM, which will cost you a flat fee of R5. Using another bank's ATM will set you back R10, and using a branch will cost a minimum of R20 or one percent of the withdrawal amount.
Account payments will cost R1 using your cellphone or R5 using a Standard Bank ATM, the internet, debit order or stop order.
If you use your CashCard (which serves as a debit card too) to pay for purchases at shops, the transaction fee is R2 for each purchase.
Jenny Hoffmann, the chief executive of MTN Banking, says there are no cellular phone (airtime) costs when performing any MobileMoney transactions.
All text messages (SMS) relating to bank account transactions on the MobileMoney account are free. Calls that you make to the MobileMoney call centre are also free. Banking charges still apply.
Burger says the security features on this account set it apart from any competitors in the South African market and MTN Banking offers some of the strongest authentification features available.
Security measures include biometric technology with voice-verification software, as well as personal identification numbers (PINs).
When you open the account via your cellphone, your voice will be recorded.
If, at a later stage, for example, you forget your PIN number and ask the call centre for it, the telephone operator will use the recording of your voice to verify your identity.
Another security measure will ensure that you will be notified by SMS every time a transaction takes place on your account.
If your PIN has been compromised in any way, you can quickly change it by using your cellphone.
If your card is lost or stolen, you can deactivate it which will prevent anyone from making transactions on your account.
If your card is lost or stolen, contact the MobileMoney Call Centre on 083 1 2265. This is a free call from an MTN cellphone.