By Tanzania’s telecommunications company called TIGO Tanzania has become the first mobile money service in the world to pay profit to its users.
Tigo announced today the first of its regular quarterly payments worth 3bn/$ 1.8 million to Tigo Pesa users.
A statement issued by Tigo said,”This payment comes three months after the company paid a staggering profit of 14.25 billion Tanzania shillings (equivalent of $8.64 million) accumulated in the TigoPesa Trust Account to become the first mobile money service in the world to pay profit to its users. Tigo Pesa has a subscriber base of 3.6 million customers.”
Tigo General Manager Diego Gutierrez said, “This second round of profit disbursement shows the company’s continued commitment to benefit and improve the lives of Tanzanians. The payment goes to all Tigo Pesa users including super agents, retail agents and individual users of the service.”
“The first payment was bigger due to the fact that the profit had been accumulated over a period of three and a half years. This second payment is the profit accumulated from funds held in trust in commercial banks for three months in the quarter July to September 2014,” the General Manager said.
Gutierrez explained that, as before, the average return to a customer will vary based on their average daily balance in their Tigo Pesa e-wallet. This applies to super-agents, retail agents, and individual customers.
The next installment for the quarter of Oct. to Dec. 2014 will be paid out in Feb. 2015.
Tigo Tanzania is the leading innovative telecommunication company in the country, distinguished as a fully-fledged digital lifestyle brand.
Offering a diverse product portfolio in voice, SMS, high-speed internet and mobile financial services, Tigo has pioneered innovations such as Facebook in Kiswahili, Tigo Pesa App for Android and iOS users, and East Africa’s first cross-border mobile money transfer with currency conversion.