MTN Partners Jumo to Offer Short-Term Loans in South Africa
MTN’s mobile money platform Momo, and mobile financial services platform for mobile network operators and banks, Jumo, have partnered to offer short-term loans in South Africa.
In a statement, MTN says Qwikloan enables MoMo users to obtain small, short-term loans on their mobile phones, ranging from R250 to R10 000 depending on eligibility, through an application process available via the MTN MoM App or USSD (*151#).
It further notes that unlike traditional banking institutions with a 24% interest rate on short-term loans, Qwikloan is able to reduce the cost of lending to a customer to as low as 10%.
According to the telco, this is made possible by MTN MoMo’s payment infrastructure and Jumo’s gore banking infrastructure with Al prediction capabilities.
Bradwin Roper, chief financial services officer at MTN South Africa said,
“MoMo’s Qwikloan offering is a testament to our dedication to providing financial solutions that prioritize accessibility and affordability. In these challenging economic times, our goal is to empower South African consumers by offering a reliable alternative with significantly lower interest rates compared to banks”.
Also speaking on the partnership, Jumo president, Joe Mucheru said,
“Our work with MTN will support entrepreneurs who need simple, quick access to working capital to grow their businesses. This work demonstrates how partnerships between financial technology companies such as Jumo, and mobile money providers are essential to drive financial inclusion and create more opportunities for customers to borrow and save cogveniently.
“There is even greater potential to grow eligibility and accessibility by introducing bank partners to the initiative. Working with partners to build the infrastructure they need to achieve their goals is what we do.”
MTN’s partnership with Jumo aligns with the growing trend of leveraging mobile technology to bridge the gap in financial services and empower individuals with greater financial flexibility and opportunity.
