Africa-Press – Uganda. Absa Bank Uganda has hailed the notable rise in usage of its cards which has also in turn led to a notable increase in transaction volume.
Speaking during the ceremony to reward more winners in its ongoing ‘Play Your Cards Right’ promotion, the head of alternate channels at Absa Uganda, Sam Kiyaga said the numbers in transaction volumes have skyrockets in the past few months.
“Just last month as we are driving this campaign, we saw record spend on our debit card and record spend on our credit card. This means what we are putting out for the customers serves the purpose, reads into their story, tells them write their stories, helps them grow and also helps them manage costs,” Kiyaga said.
Making a case for card usage, Kiyaga said when one goes to the ATM to withdraw cash, they are charged, which is not the case when they use the card to transact.
“If you are moving out of the country and you get Uganda Shillings and exchange them to Dollars or Euros, you make the first loss because there are translation fees. Then you reach the other country and start paying. You come back with balance that you have to transfer back to Uganda Shillings. That is all a loss. The customers using cards are not facing those losses.”
The head of alternate channels at Absa Uganda said online is the fastest growing form of transaction for the bank.
Moses Rutahigwa, Absa Bank Uganda’s Retail and Business Banking Director also spoke to the growing number of Ugandans using cards to transact.
He said Uganda currently has about 3.5 million debit cards in the market and 10,000 credit cards, noting that these cards lead to 12.1 million transactions annually.
“This year, the volume is up by 16 percent but shs2.4 trillion goes through debit cards which is a lot of money. As a bank we are proud to be a leader in this space and with such campaigns like Play Your Cards Right, we want to increase card usage in the country but also bring value to our customers,” Rutahigwa said.
The winners
During the function, the bank rewarded four more winners in the second batch of the promotion and these shared shs40 million amongst themselves.
“We launched this campaign to ensure our customers, as and when they use their cards, are able to not only get convenience but also get rewarded for choosing to carry card over cash,” Rutahigwa said.
“Not only have we made it easier to use a debit card, you can also use a QR code to pay even without carrying a card with you. Every swipe, tap, or online payment could be the one that wins you shs10 million. This is our way of making banking both rewarding and convenient, while encouraging customers to make the most of Absa’s secure, innovative, and easy-to-use digital payment solutions,”
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