The cash transfer unit of Africell Sierra Leone, Afrimoney has recently launched a donation platform on its menu to enable subscribers with religious organizations access cash via their mobile phones, at a ceremony held in Freetown.Speaking at the unveiling on the facility, the Director of Afrimoney Sierra Leone, Martison Obeng-Agyei informed that the network has introduced the donation platform as an additional service that is applied by dialling *161# to access Afrimoney mobile system; a scheme aimed at helping churches, mosque and other organizations in receiving and sending money for themselves in the country.

Africell SL’s electronic cash transfer Director said Afrimoney is a mobile money solution offered to all Africell SL subscribers in a secured way to store and manage money in an account linked to subscribers’ Africell SL sim cards, similar to a bank account system.

Martison Obeng-Agyei explained that for Africell SL subscribers to be eligible for the Afrimoney Donation platform, they must be fully registered with a given religious organization, specifically – a church or a mosque to Afrimoney, which will be given a sim card with a short code that will serve as the account code to transfer money in an accessible way to low-income earners with a minimal requirements for registration and transaction.

He continued that the Afrimoney Donation platform is a means of receiving money without physical presence as one might not be chance to go to church or mosque but however will be able to pay their offering, tithe, zakat, charity or any other financial obligations or gestures to their churches and mosques.

Martison Obeng-Agyei added that to make use of the platform, a subscriber should dial *161#, select the first option which says send money and after that you highlight the third option which is donation, and you will be given three options which is option one for church, option two for mosque and option three for others which is any other organization you are dealing with and then select one of the options base on the organization you are dealing with and after that you will be asked to input the said organization code and then confirm the said code.

Martison Obeng-Agyei said that some of the criteria they look for before registering any organization is their registration documents, the signatory of individuals that will have access to the mobile account, national identification and what have you to ensure credibility and certainty when entering into the agreement.

Director of Afrimoney Sierra Leone uniquely highlighted that this platform is just the same as an account but with the aid of the sim card which serves as a connecting point to access this service as it will help the crowdfunding capability of these organizations and as the leading telecommunications company in the country they ensure that this service is on free of cost basis in a quest to help these organizations.

Martison Obeng-Agyei said that the importance of the mobile money system is enormous as it reduces transaction costs for users and helps households to better manage their cash flows; it allows firms to invest and build capital over time, fostering the creation and expansion of business; and it facilitates faster and more efficiently in terms of mobile money transaction.

In addition, He said that since they relaunch the mobile money service in 2020, they have made rapid improvements in a faster and more secure mobile money platform with a wider array of services as Africell, puts mobile money at the heart of its expansion plans which will allow their customers to send funds swiftly and securely to individuals and organizations on any network and even those without phones on a twenty-four-hour basis using a unique code.

He concluded by imploring all and sundry to make use of the various offers of Afrimoney like the transfer of money domestically, payments of gods, and services, and to also pay bills such as EDSA, DSTV, and WAEC among others, buying Africell services like Airtime, Data, collect international remittances and the payment of salaries as the benefits are huge with effective and efficient service delivery in the country.”