MTN Uganda has today unveiled its new reduced mobile money (MoMo) withdraw charges aimed at making customer-to-customer transactions cheaper in 2021. In reflection to the current MTN Mobile Money charges encompassing deposit fees and payment charges, the new withdraw charges differ per transaction range on top of a mandatory 0.5% mobile money tax.
Just like the old transaction ranges, the minimum amount a customer can withdraw is UGX 500 which attracts a UGX 330 withdraw charge. On the other hand, UGX 7,000,000 is the maximum amount a customer can withdraw with UGX 20,000 as the payable withdraw charge at an agent stall.
However, with the new withdraw charges, MTN Uganda has maxed its charges with free Senkyu Points each time a customer withdraws money. The General Manager Mobile Financial Services Stephen Mutana inked the slight reduction of withdraw charges coupled with bonus Senkyu points as one aimed at bolstering mobile money usage in Uganda as he said.
“We appreciate that many people rely on MTN MoMo to facilitate various aspects of their lives and therefore believe that this reduction in withdrawal fees increases the benefits that have made mobile money such a transformative service over the years,”
Mutana said.
Over the years, mobile money usage in Uganda has increased with the emergence of mobile credit services like MTN’s Mokash and Airtel’s Wewole. These have forced customers to ditch regular banking services, and instead rely on mobile money to save, send and receive money across the country. However, when mobile money tax was introduced in Uganda, mobile money usage dropped from its all time high with a majority of users opting for physical methods of money transfer.
Now, as per MTN’s new move to lower Withdraw fees, customers may find it attractive to transfer money with free loyalty Senkyu points that can be converted into freebies. For instance, each time a customer deposits UGX 5,000 they receive 1 point, and each time UGX 100 is spent on sending or withdraw, the customer gets 2 points in return.
So, unlike before, each time you transact using MTN Mobile Money, you are rewarded free MTN Senkyu Points which can be redeemed for free data, free voice minutes, free SMS, and free mobile money cash backs per transaction as listed on the new reduced MTN Withdraw rates.
The New Reduced MTN Mobile Money Withdraw Charges
| Transaction Range | Withdraw Charge | SENKYU POINTS |
|---|---|---|
| 500 – 2,500 | 330 | 6 |
| 2,501 – 5,000 | 440 | 8 |
| 5,001 – 15,000 | 700 | 14 |
| 15,001 – 30,000 | 880 | 16 |
| 30,001 – 45,000 | 1,210 | 24 |
| 45,001 – 60,000 | 1,500 | 30 |
| 60,001 – 125,000 | 1,925 | 38 |
| 125,001 – 250,000 | 3,575 | 70 |
| 250,001 – 500,000 | 7,000 | 140 |
| 500,001 – 1,000,000 | 12,500 | 250 |
| 1,000,001-2,000,000 | 15,000 | 300 |
| 2,000,001- 4,000,000 | 18,000 | 360 |
| 4,000,001- 7,000,000 | 20,000 | 400 |
The new charges took effect on 1st May 2021 and will stay active throughout the year as per the telco’s official communication. But if compared to the old withdraw rates, the new charges only differ by a small percentage with 5% reduced per transaction tier. Previously, UGX 350 was the set charge to withdraw UGX 500, but with a 5% reduction, the new charge is UGX 330 as the trend follows with other transaction ranges.
| Transaction Range | Old Withdraw Rates | New Withdraw Rates (2021) |
|---|---|---|
| 500 – 2,500 | 350 | 300 |
| 2,501 – 5,000 | 480 | 440 |
| 5,001 – 15,000 | 770 | 700 |
| 15,001 – 30,000 | 970 | 880 |
| 30,001 – 45,000 | 1,350 | 1,210 |
| 45,001 – 60,000 | 1,650 | 1,500 |
| 60,001 – 125,000 | 2,150 | 1,925 |
| 125,001 – 250,000 | 3,950 | 3,575 |
| 250,001 – 500,000 | 7,700 | 7,000 |
| 500,001 – 1,000,000 | 13,750 | 12,500 |
| 1,000,001-2,000,000 | 18,500 | 15,000 |
| 2,000,001- 4,000,000 | 25,000 | 18,000 |
| 4,000,001- 7,000,000 | 25,000 | 20,000 |
Now that MTN Uganda’s 2021 Withdraw charges have been reduced, we may see a similar reduction in Airtel Money charges in the coming months since the two telcos compete for the same customer base. In a like manner, other services like Africell Money, UTL’s Msente and Lyca Mobile Money may follow the same path to make mobile money the best money transfer choice for customers in Uganda.