How to make payments with mobile money

Posted by Felix Okoli on Monday December 23, 2013 at 15:55:46:

Mobile Money E-wallet is a platform where you can transfer money, pay bills and carry out other forms of transactions using a mobile phone. It is a convenient and secured way to send money to friends and family with your mobile device. In Africa, the use of Mobile Money E-wallet has gradually come to stay, as efforts are being made to encourage the use of Mobile E- wallet for payments.

The Mobile platforms are provided by the Mobile Money Service Providers and this enable Customers to download the platform and make easy transactions with their mobile phones, though some Mobile E-wallet accounts work with text message and do not require downloads or internet connections.

BENEFITS OF USING MOBILE MONEY FOR PAYMENTS:
- EASY TO ACCESS AND USE: Mobile Money payments are so easy to access and use. Even a novice can start making use of the platforms immediately with little or no assistance. It does not require any complex process, just a phone with or without an internet connection.

- MOBILE MONEY TRANSACTIONS ARE LESS STRESSFULL AND SAVES TIME: Gone are the days when anybody who wants to make a transaction would have to go to the Bank and waste countless number of hours queuing up. With the introduction of Mobile E-wallet, transactions can now be done without wasting much time and the Recipient gets paid immediately.

-MOBILE MONEY TRANSACTION CAN BE CARRIED OUT ANYTIME OF THE DAY: Regardless of what time of the day it is, you can easily make a transfer with your Mobile Money account.

-IT IS CHEAP: Most transfers made through Mobile E-wallet accounts are free of charge. This is to encourage more people to start making use of Mobile means of payments.

HOW TO FUND A MOBILE MONEY ACCOUNT:
After you have created an E-wallet Mobile account, the next step is to fund the account, in order to make payments with it. There are different ways to fund an E-wallet Mobile account and it all depends on the Service Providers platform. The two popular methods for funding include:

-THROUGH MOBILE MONEY AGENTS: Most Mobile Money Companies have Agents who help Customers fund their accounts. You can fund your account with an Agent. Visit the Agent near you, pay the Agent the cash equivalent of the amount you want to be transferred and your Mobile account number. The amount would be transferred
to your account.

-THROUGH DIRECT BANK DEPOSIT: Most Mobile Money Service Providers provide options for Bank deposit into their account, while the cash equivalent would be transferred to the Person’s Mobile Money account.
HOW TO MAKE PAYMENTS WITH MOBILE MONEY:
To transfer money or pay bills through Mobile Money platforms, you have to have the Bank account or Mobile Money account details of the Recipient. Log into your own account, click on the transfer option, enter the amount and your PIN number. A confirmation SMS will be sent to your number to confirm the transaction.
HOW TO MAKE CASH WITHDRAWAL FROM YOUR MOBILE MONEY ACCOUNT:
You can withdraw cash from your Mobile account through these two methods:

-MOBILE MONEY AGENTS: Locate an Agent near you, transfer the E-wallet equivalent into his account, He pays the cash equivalent to you.

-ATM WITHDRAWAL: Some Providers allow their Customers to make cash withdrawal from their Mobile Money account using the ATM.
This is all you need to know about the process of making a payment using a Mobile Money account.