John Paul Semyalo, Pebuu Chief Executive Officer, the product has been piloted in a number of schools and works well (PHOTO /Courtesy) KAMPALA —Pocket money in form of cash in school is set to become history, following a new innovation that seeks to have it stored in electronic wallets.
Dubbed Pebuu School Product, the innovation by Pebuu Limited, a Financial Technology Company (FinTech) enables students, parents or guardians to deposit pocket money in electronic wallets which they can access using their thumb print or a unique number at the nearest agent.
The innovation will also help control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in schools, given that cash is one of the channels through which the virus spreads.
The product, according to John Paul Semyalo, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, has been piloted in a number of schools and works well.
Pebuu Limited, a women-centric brand, uses agents, who are spread across the country, to serve its customers.
Semyalo notes that the firm, which trades as Pebuu Africa, has 2,400 merchants countrywide, with 80% of them using Point-Of-Sale (POS) machines while 20% use a mobile App on their smartphones.
Pebuu partnered with telecommunications companies – MTN, Airtel, Africell and Uganda Telecom Limited (UTL) to distribute their products – mobile money, airtime, data, Over the Top Tax and other services, through its platform.
The FinTech started off with four agents five years ago, carrying only carrying airtime as telecoms were at first adamant to on-boarding any FinTech for mobile money and the other services.
It is also partnering with banks, with three of them – Stanbic, GT Bank and Centenary, already on board, according to Semyalo, who adds that they are in advance stages of on-boarding other banks on to the platform.
“When you visit a Pebuu agent, you are able to cash-in or cash-out mobile money, pay your bills or do banking at the lowest cost possible,” Semyalo says.
Pebuu, which is among the firms taking part in the second edition of the 40-Days 40-FinTechs initiative, also has a Pebuu Care product, a micro credit solution that focuses on women and youth.
The product enables agents to borrow money in real time and pay back the loan in 24 hours or 30 days.Commenting about the 40 Days 40 FinTechs, Semyalo said: “It is a great initiative; it brings together the different FinTechs to share ideas and the one unique thing is that it opens up the Ugandan FinTechs […]