Telecel launched Telecash with interoperability as their main trump card and that promise seems to taking shape gradually. . Today Telecel announced via their Facebook page that Telecash users could now pay their insurance premiums via the mobile money service.
Based on the announcement and advert, the service seems to be only active with three insurance companies namely, First Mutual Life, Eagle Insurance and Cimas. First Mutual Life is particularly interesting.
In November 2013, First Mutual Life launched a mobile insurance product called eFML which we felt was a limited mobile insurance product. Among other major limitations was that to pay a premium using EcoCash, users had to memorise the eFML biller code and make the payment manually.
If eFML is carrying on this product with Telecash, it means it now has USSD option for payments to eFML replacing the need to memorise the biller code. This will make the eFML a more rounded mobile insurance product as far as payments are concerned.
Again, this is the first time we are seeing a mobile money product integrate with other financial services companies outside banks. With insurance, so far Econet has opted to go it alone through the EcoFarmer product.
One response
public API would be nice