SECLOM JOINS HANDS WITH EXIM BANK TANZANIA TOWARDS FINANCIAL INCLUSION

Exim Bank Tanzania Chief Financial Officer, Selemani Ponda (right) and Selcom Tanzania Director of Strategy, Benjamin Mpamo (left) cut a ribbon to symbolise the launch of a cash point ATM network for card and cardless cash withdrawals for Selcom-managed bank customers, Exim Bank customers, mobile money customers and any other local or international Master Card or Visa cardholders.

21st December 2017, Dar es Salaam - In its ongoing efforts to improve access to financial services for Tanzanians at large, Exim Bank Tanzania and Selcom Tanzania have partnered to officially launch the Selcom Cashpoint ATM network for card and cardless cash withdrawals for Selcom-managed bank customers, Exim Bank customers, mobile money customers and any other local or international Master Card or Visa cardholders.

This service enables customers with Tigo Pesa, M-Pesa, Airtel Money, Halopesa, Selcom Card and customers who use mobile banking services to withdraw cash without the use of a card by requesting a secure one-time token through their mobile phone. Customers simply enter the token, their phone number and amount to withdraw at any Selcom Cashpoint ATM to withdraw their cash, anytime, anywhere. Visa and MasterCard customers can withdraw cash using their cards as they would at any other ATM in the world with their EMV card and PIN. The primary focus of launching the Selcom Cashpoint ATM model is to promote the easy availability of cash at all times through a shared infrastructure investment and leverages Selcom’s core value of collaboration and integration.

Speaking at the launch, Exim Bank Tanzania CFO, Mr Selemani Ponda said “As Tanzania’s fourth largest bank in terms of assets, we want to reiterate our commitment to do our best to create an environment where the usage of financial services can be easily accessible”. This partnership will save costs as more clients can use on ATM and it allows card less transactions he added.

Innovation is a promise we give to our customers and clients. The Bank has had significant breakthrough innovations through the deployment of world class technology and customer focused products. We are proud to be the first bank in Tanzania to introduce Credit Cards, Exchange Traded Retail Bonds, and an ISO certified in-house training academy. We also pioneered Mobile ATM facility solutions, 24/7 Banking area in select branches with Cash Deposit Machine facility and an exclusive financing scheme for women in Tanzania. We are a fast growing and innovative digital bank with many more interesting products and service launched in 2017 like travel and salary pre-paid cards, USD denominated Debit and Credit card and Mobile Wallet.

There has been a major challenge in cash delivery, and through the new Selcom Cashpoint ATM system, customers will now be able to avoid the distractions and obstacles they have encountered before. Mobile money agents are consistently faced with inadequate liquidity levels and closed-loop proprietary ATM restricts interoperability, therefore the Selcom Cashpoint ATM guarantees access to cash.

The collaboration leverages Selcom ability to deploy and manage the physical ATM hardware, its cutting edge technical capabilities and large portfolio of banks and services providers, while Exim Bank provides cash sponsorship and management services, their banking license and MasterCard/Visa membership and switching capabilities.

Speaking for Selcom Tanzania, Selcom’s Director for Strategy, Mr Benjamin Mpamo highlighted, 'Selcom's main goal is to improve financial inclusion through technology and ensure that financial services are accessible easily to all Tanzanians. In ensuring that we fulfill this goal, Selcom in partnership with Exim Bank have launched the Selcom Cashpoint service to enable Tanzanians to get easy and guaranteed access to cash any time, anywhere.” Selcom was the first company in Tanzania to innovate the distribution of LUKU through mobile money and POS channels, it was the first to commoditize mass market mobile banking services the first to enable mobile money to bank and bank to mobile money switching, the first to digitize merchant payments, amongst many other innovations that have been conceived and developed in house by Selcom Tanzania without licensing any foreign technology.

Other services that will soon be available on the Selcom Cashpoint ATMs will be the purchase of LUKU, payment of utility bills such as Dawasco, airtime top up and other related services.

About Exim Bank: 

The bank, which was recognized as Tanzania’s Best Retail Bank by Banker Africa East Africa 2017, is celebrating 20 years of success, growth and pioneering into new markets across the continent. Exim Bank (Tanzania) Limited was established in 1997 and expanded its market by opening subsidiaries in Comoros (2007), Djibouti (2010) and Uganda (2016). The bank holds pride in being the first local bank to go offshore. Its core objective is to create investment value to its shareholders and achieve growth through delivery of differentiated and customized services.

Last year Exim Bank posted a pre-tax profit of Sh 83.3 billion making it the 4th biggest bank in terms of assets in Tanzania. Within a short span of 20 years of its existence, the bank has built a strong brand through its geographical reach, innovative products, relationship management and its ability to provide a faster turnaround in services.

About Selcom: 

Selcom is a leading financial technology service provider in Tanzania offering under license from the Bank of Tanzania and the Tanzania Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TCRA). Selcom provides turn-key mobile and financial services to over 35 banks in Tanzania, with the largest portfolio of billers and a POS agent network approaching 19,000 agents across the country. Amongst others, Selcom is a PCI-DSS certified payments services providers and a payments facilitator for MasterCard in Africa. For more information +255 787 523152, info@Selcom.net, www.selcom.net