Airtel Mobile Commerce Uganda Limited in partnership with Mastercard, Diamond Trust Bank and Network International have launched the Airtel Money Global Pay Card, a virtual prepaid card designed to give Ugandans a secure and convenient way to make international payments.
Through this card, customers will be able to pay for services from international merchants including online shopping on platforms like Amazon, eBay and Alibaba, streaming entertainment on Netflix, Spotify and Apple Music, online learning through Coursera, Duolingo and Udemy, digital advertising on Facebook, Instagram and X, travel bookings via Expedia, Booking.com and Airbnb and software subscriptions with Microsoft, Google and Adobe.
During the launch in Kampala on Tuesday, Japhet Aritho, managing director Airtel Mobile Commerce Uganda Limited said that this prepaid card allows customers to load only the amount they need, offering better control over spending for a range of services like e-commerce, entertainment, education, travel and digital advertising.
He noted that the Pay Card sits independent of the customer’s day-to-day Airtel Money wallet where customers can create it for free via the My Airtel App and then transfer money to it from their mobile money wallet without any charges.
“We are delighted to launch a product that reflects our commitment to providing innovative and accessible financial solutions to Ugandans. We recognize that USSD technology is sun-setting and that is why we are leading with a prepaid Virtual Card. We are opening doors to global opportunities, enabling our customers to participate in the growing global digital economy with ease and confidence,” Aritho said.
Dan Edoma, the country director of Network International, an enabler of digital commerce said they have created a capability that merges end-to-end payment solutions ranging from payment processing and card management to fraud prevention and regulatory compliance and therefore this is an opportunity that will be able to not only enhance the usage of digital innovations but also create an avenue for more and more users to be digitally included and have their own identity.
“This marks an opportunity for us to advance digital inclusion not only in Uganda but also the rest of Africa. Whether it is a small business owner that wants to tap into the global marketplace or a student that wants to pay for a course online will be able to do so using the virtual card.”
Uganda’s digital financial services have seen a major boost, with mobile money transactions soaring to Shs 191 trillion in the year leading up to June 2023. This marks a 23 per cent jump from the previous year’s total of Shs 156 trillion as reported by the Bank of Uganda.
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That is indeed an effort on the part of Airtel Africa digital application to run digital business on the international market. However, it wants to look as if much of the money is the hands of very few poweful individuals. What the IGG says about corruption is bad for digital business processing. Uganda is facing an alarming financial loss due to corruption, with an estimated Shs10 trillion 44 percent of its domestic revenue draining out annually, according to Beti Kamya, the Inspector General of Government (IGG). What of the high debts this country is faced with?