Mpamba, Airtel money banking system integration in 2018
Plans are at an advanced stage to integrate TNM Mpamba and Airtel Money into the banking system through the National Switch (Nat-Switch) sometime next year, financial regulator the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) has said.
“The integration is already happening right now but at a small scale,” Mbane Ngwira, the central bank’s spokesperson said Wednesday.
He said with integration through Nat-Switch, it will be possible for all Airtel Money and TNM Mpamba users to do transactions with any bank.
“For instance, if you are a Standard Bank account holder and an Airtel Money subscriber, you can pull funds from your account into an Airtel Wallet or vice versa. With integration through Nat-Switch, this will be possible for all Airtel and Mpamba users,” Ngwira explained.
He said the next stage will be interoperability of mobile money wallets where Airtel Money users should be able to send money to Mpamba users.
Once successful, the move is expected to improve financial inclusion in the country, which is currently low with a 2014 FinScope survey showing that 52 percent of Malawian adults are unbanked.
