Monrovia- In its bid to boost Liberia’s digital financial platform, Lonestar Cell MTN has launched its MTN Mobile Money In-App QR Code.
The app, identified as MTN Momo can be easily downloaded from the apps store and can be used to perform whatever financial transactions in both the Liberian and U.S. currencies, much faster and convenience than the traditional *156# method, according to officials of the company.
The new digital platform was launched at a colorful event held on Friday at the Grand Royal Hotel in Monrovia. It was graced by officials of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL), Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) and EcoBank.
Speaking at the event, the General Manager and CEO of Lonestar Cell MTN, Raul De thanked his team and the CBL family for the innovation and collaboration in achieving the latest feat.
“The excitement and innovation I see in this service that is being used is compared to none. We are far ahead of Nigeria and for that I will not only tell my team thank you but to the biggest financial institution- the CBL,” he said.
“But, with the launch of this app, users can scan and pay for what they need. So, today I am extremely happy to be here to showcase this service and going forward, we will really need your support to drive this financial inclusion and the good part is the environment.”
Speaking earlier, Lonestar Cell MTN Communications Manager, Ms. Lisa white said the app is a central point from which cutomers can manage t mobile money. “No matter the currency, U.S. or Liberty, you can perform whatever financial transactions you need to. Now, with the QR code feature, you can simply scan a QR code and pay for goods and services quickly and easily. *156# will soon become a thing of the past,” she told the gathering.
Lonestarcell MTN is credited for being the pioneer of the mobile money platform in Liberia when it launched the Lonestar Cell MTN Mobile Money, simply called Momo in 2011. The company is celebrating 10 years of the platform in Liberia.
“We first brought Mobile Money to Liberia in 2011 to provide peace of mind and convenience to our customers. Since then, we’ve continually added more services and more convenience,” she said.
Some of the services allow customers to quickly and securely make payments with their mobile money wallet to various merchants, paying taxes and other bills, depositing and withdrawing monies from bank accounts to mobile money wallets, receiving international remittances and more.
She noted MTN Mobile Money has always been more than just sending and receiving money. It’s also about changing lives, she said.
She added that Within a 90-day period, the company had one million Liberians using mobile money. According to her, Mobile Money has digitized Liberia, included Liberians in the financial services sector who were excluded, employed close to 100,000 people and supported the economy during liquidity and health challenges.
She acknowledged that critical to these initiatives is the company’s partnership with the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) and the community of banks, along with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning. Particularly, she hailed Ecobank for beginning the mobile money journey with the corporation.
“Liberia’s financial digi-tiz-ation would not have been possible without your foresight and belief in Mobile Money and in Lonestar Cell MTN. We thank you, she said.
“Our Ambition is to lead digital solutions for Liberia’s progress which is vital to this vision and ambition. So today we take another step towards our digital future with the MTN Mobile Money In-App QR Code.”
With the QR code feature, subscribers can simply scan a QR code and pay for goods and services quickly and easily, she said, adding “*156# will soon become a thing of the past.”
What is a QR code?
Giving a brief background, Ms. White said the QR code or the Quick Response code was first invented in 1994 in Japan by the Japanese company Denso Wave, a Toyota subsidiary to track vehicles and parts accurately during the manufacturing process. It was designed to allow for fast decoding speeds.
For Lonestar MTN, she said the QR code can be used to link merchant accounts to customer mobile money wallets so subscribers can scan and pay for goods and services.
“You can scan and pay at any one of the 4, 000 mobile money merchants in Liberia that have a QR Code on their mobile money poster. The app is for your use. Scanning the OR Code is for your convenience. It’s functional. You can scan and pay at Restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, electronic stores. Anywhere, any time.”