Telecom operator MTN on Tuesday appealed to its customers to adopt digital payment using the mobile money platform (MoMo), other than carrying cash.
This follows repeated complaints from users of the platform about failing to withdraw cash.
Wani Yussuf, a MoMo subscriber, expressed his frustration, saying MoMo agents only accept deposits but have difficulty giving out cash when needed by customers.
“It has been very difficult to use MoMo. When MoMo came in, it was an amazing experience where you do not need to carry cash, but now things have turned around,” he lamented. “When you want to deposit, the MoMo agents will always accept, but when you want to withdraw, most of the agents will not give you access to the whole amount.”
“They (agents) will only give you excuses that they do not have enough cash, even if you see customers depositing cash. If you are lucky, they will give you a very limited amount and this is so disappointing because you have money but cannot make use of it yet most places demand cash, not mobile money” Yussuf added.
For his part, Akol Deng, a MoMo agent in Juba’s Gudele suburb, said they are limiting withdrawals because of a shortage of cash.
“There is a lack of cash flow on MoMo; there is more money in the account, but there is no cash to withdraw,” he explained. “So, for us to withdraw more, we have to sell the one in the account to get cash for withdrawals.”
However, responding to the matter, Francis Matseketsa, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN South Sudan, said they are aware of the failures of some MoMo customers to withdraw cash from some agents.
He assured the general public that they are working with relevant stakeholders to explore solutions, like encouraging the transacting public to adopt digital payments by using MoMo to pay for goods and services at their nearest merchant retail outlets accepting MoMo.
“We also urge all retail outlets, merchants, and wholesalers to accept MoMo as a means of payment as they all become value chains, thus avoiding the use of cash for payments,” he stated. “We expect that since the government, through the finance ministry and the Bank of South Sudan, made several pronouncements to encourage the use of electronic payments instead of cash, the public should embrace cashless transactions.”
Matseketsa noted that while South Sudan is still in the early stages of adopting digital payments, they urge the public to patiently embrace cashless transactions as they drive financial inclusion to the underserved society. He said that empirical research has proven that the adoption of digital payments is a catalyst to accelerating economic development.
“We therefore urge the transacting public to minimize the use of cash and adopt MoMo as one of the digital payment solutions,” he said.
According to Matseketsa, MTN MoMo has been working closely with all banks and other partners to create interoperable digital payment solutions convenient to the transacting public, and great progress has been made to date. He added that MTN MoMo has developed alternative products that enable customers to access goods and services via MoMo without withdrawing physical cash at agent outlets.