AfricaPress-Tanzania: A TOTAL of 4,855 motorcycle riders commonly known as bodaboda are now actively making use of formal financial services, thanks to an initiative by NMB Bank and MasterCard.
That was said in Dar es Salaam yesterday by the bank’s Acting Chief of Finance Benedicto Baragomwa, after they launched a service known as MastaBoda early last year, in a deliberate move to help the riders make use of formal financial services in their operations.
“To-date, we have been able to register a total of 4,855 boda bodas with the MastaBoda service and our target is to make sure that the service registers 75,000 bodabodas countrywide by the end of this year,” he added.
Mr Baragomwa made the observation in an event to award motorbikes to five bodaboda riders, who emerged winners in the bank’s ongoing campaign to promote the service.
MastaBoda works in such a way that a passenger-who hires a bodaboda-pays the fare through his/her mobile phone and the money is directly deposited into the rider’s account.
The transaction, aided by MasterCard QR, removes the need for one to pay through hard cash.
Data, collected by NMB Bank shows that there were over 2 million bodaboda riders across Tanzania, a majority of who are using informal financial services, which expose their payments to a number of challenges including theft, misplacement and misuse.
The five winners were awarded with bodabodas, mobile phones and cash for emerging as best users by virtue of number of transactions using NMB Bank’s MastaBoda service.
Since the campaign started, the bank has issued awards in form of cash to over 100 bodaboda riders while ten more have won smartphones.
“The five who are receiving motorbikes today have conducted the highest number of monthly transactions through Mastercard QR,” said the Chief of Finance.
He further said that digital transactions were well in line with the bank’s operational strategy, mostly during this time when the world was battling spread of Covid-19.
“However, we call upon all Tanzanians to make use of this mode of transaction which is simple, safe and secure…NMB will always strive to come up with efforts that will its services closer to the people,” he said.
Commenting, a representative from MasterCard E.A Marketing Manager, Teresa Moraa said: “Through our partnership with NMB Bank, we have been able to launch the Mastercard QR and the MastaBoda campaign as we seek to enable entrepreneurs to make safe, easy and cashless
