On 21st September 2020, multinational financial services corporation Mastercard and Tanzanian payment services provider Selcom announced the launch of a new mobile payment application in the country.
The app addresses the lack of a one-stop solution for all consumer payments in Tanzania by enabling people to centralize all their payment cards or supported mobile banking profiles on one digital platform.
The app allows its customers to link their Mastercard or Visa card (issued by any bank), or mobile banking profile to:
- Pay at over 40,000 shops, restaurants and businesses using Mastercard QR
- Buy local and international airtime, pay their Internet and television subscriptions, Government dues, fees and fines
- Discover offers and promos from businesses and restaurants
- Earn and spend Qwikrewards Qwikrewards.
In his remarks, Selcom’s Executive Director Sameer Hirji said: “The most relevant gap that the Selcom Mastercard application addresses is the ability to link a Mastercard debit or credit card, or any other scheme card, to the application to pay at Mastercard QR merchants for free, especially if your bank does not directly support the service. Selcom is known for disruption, and this is one of many services we will be launching in the coming months to make the lives of consumers and merchants better and easier. With the added cashback angle, consumers are likely to increase their use of Mastercard QR.”
Selcom is the largest cross-segment financial and payment services provider operating in Tanzania, providing its customers in Tanzania and across Sub-Saharan Africa, with a full range of electronic payment products and services focusing on digital, card and cardless processing services.
Adam Jones, Country Manager for East Africa, Mastercard said, “Mastercard has been spearheading the transition to digital payments for several years in Tanzania. By partnering with Selcom to incentivize consumers to pay for goods and services using the newly launched Selcom Mastercard app, not only are we promoting digital and financial inclusion, but we are also connecting merchants to a wider customer base to increase the volume of their sales transactions.”
