On Thursday, United Nations held a State of Digital Financial Services Industry Launch in conjunction with Bank of Zambia to ensure that the opportunities and benefits of digital finance will reach low income people in difficult markets and to give companies in the industry insight into how digital financial services (DFS) are performing in regards to efficiency, development and customer popularity.
Digital economy broker, Nandini Nish, emphasized the importance of money transfer services such as mobile money and Zoona in regards to how the indicate development in the community.
“Total registered mobile money accounts grew by 143 million customers in 2018” she said. Nish explained that only one third of customers who have money transfer accounts are actually active and she stressed that companies should take the necessary steps to engage customers and promote activity as “there is still a need for providers to include customers more in the product development process.”
Nandini Nish also stated that the UN is continuously working with financial organizations in an effort to increase access to financial services in rural areas in order to aid development.
Bank of Zambia’s Deputy Governor in Charge of Operations, Bwalya Ng’andu also spoke at the meeting which was held at Intercontinental. Mr. Ng’andu said “the number of agents has increased tremendously by 104 percent from 23,000 in 2017 to 47,000 in 2018 and a 9 percent active customer account growth compared to 2.3 million customers in 2018. The report shows that the demand for digital financial services is growing at a very fast pace and it further indicates an increase in the number of employees that are dedicated to DFS activities, with most on them focusing on the distribution channels.” Mr Ng’andu commended the United Nations’ efforts in boosting the digital economy, not only in Zambia, but globally.