Over 1,400 Zain customers have registered for Zap just ten days after the service was launched in Tanzania by mobile phone service provider Zain.
``People have started using Zap to send money to their friends and families and we are excited that they have embraced the service so quickly,`` Zain Tanzania products and services manager Deo Tarimo said yesterday in Dar es Salaam.
He further said that hundreds of customers had applied to be registered as Zap agents.
Zain launched the Zap service ten days ago to bring mobile banking to over 100 million customers in East Africa and reduce the necessity of walking with cash. Coca-Cola Kwanza is already using Zap for their distribution.
`Coca-Cola is already using our Zap system effectively for their whole sale sales and instead of the Coca-Cola distributors paying cash to Coke truck drivers they will directly Zap Coca-Cola and crates of soda,`` he said.
Zap has the additional benefit of increased security and flexibility, reducing the need to carry cash and ensuring payments between business associates, friends and family remain secure.
A password is needed for each transaction and the service is protected through a state-of-the-art security application.
Customers will also benefit from being able to access the service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through their handset menu and enjoy the convenience of having access to cash anytime, anywhere.
Explaining how the Zap system works, he said Coca-Cola wholesalers register as Zap users and then deposit cash into the Zap system and pay the Coca- Cola agents electronically via Zap by directly sending to Coca-Cola`s Zap account.
Zain then clears the amount collected via Zap with Coca-Cola at the end of every business day.
``It is affordable, secure and saves queues,`` he said highlighting the benefits of the system and adding that Zap has been introduced to support day to day transactions.
He said to use Zap both the sender and the person receiving money need to be on the Zain network.
``To register Zain customers can sign-up for free for the new banking and payment services by completing an application form and handing it over to registered Zain agents in tens of thousands of villages, towns and cities across East Africa,`` he said.
Zain will then provide the customer with a mobile wallet, which will allow them to use their mobile phone in much the same way as a bank account debit card and manage their money through their handset.
The service is supported on all handsets including ultra low cost handsets (ULCH) which Zain is successfully rolling out across the continent.
``We are encouraging retailers to sign up for Zap because the product has great benefits for both customers and retailers and has the potential to transform how we pay for goods and services,`` Tarimo said.
He added that the benefits of Zap were several as the service offers a complete one stop shop experience so customers can make calls, send SMS messages, send airtime and even access bank accounts and send money 24 hours a day where ever they are.
``The service is also convenient and easy to use and allows customers access to money and financial management anywhere, anytime,`` he said.
* SOURCE: Guardian
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