Airtel Tanzania has partnered with the country’s I&M Bank to launch a mobile overdraft service.
Branded as Kamilisha, the service will enable customers to make transactions – including P2P transfers, airtime top-ups and data purchases - even if their digital wallets are short of the required funds. The service can also be used to pay bills.
Airtel Tanzania explained that collaborating with I&M Bank Tanzania allowed it to guarantee that transactions made via Kamilisha would not be declined provided they met certain terms and conditions. The service was developed after Airtel Money determined that the main barrier facing transactions was a lack of ready funds in digital wallets.
Airtel Money Tanzania director Isaac Nchunda noted that the unit was always “looking for innovative ways to fulfil customers’ day-to-day needs” and that it would continue to pursue ways of “transforming the lives of customers and providing financial empowerment”.
For its fiscal Q2 2020, Airtel Africa saw its revenue jump 33.9% - largely driven by mobile money. In March this year, TPG’s The Rise Fund acquired a minority stake in Airtel Money for $200 million.
