Old Mutual has brought investment and insurance to USSD & WhatsApp

Old Mutual yesterday announced the launch of a USSD and WhatsApp platform called MyOldMutual. I have to hand it to Old Mutual for the production, it’s no Apple event but they put some serious money and thought into the event. I mean they had the man of the moment himself Holy Ten perform.

USSD and WhatsApp channels are now an industry standard

Over the last year or so, WhatsApp and USSD channels have become the norm. You’d be hard-pressed to find any institution these days that doesn’t have or at the very least isn’t working on one. And Old Mutual coming in with their own was, to be honest, is something that we were expecting.

On that note, the MyOldMutual USSD platform won’t be anything new for CABS customers. The Old Mutual USSD is the same as the one for its subsidiary (*227#) and if you want to access the same services on WhatsApp you can do it by saving the number (+263) 0777 227 227.

Old Mutual Investments, Insurance and Banking on USSD

Banking

As I hinted said earlier if you are a CABS customer you’ll probably know your way around the banking aspect of the USSD. If you aren’t on the other hand, then you can still access it but you’ll have to open a CABS Textacash account in order to get the banking aspect.

The steps are pretty simple all you need to do is to:

• Dail *227#
• Select Option 1 “Banking Services”
• It will then ask you if you are CABS customer or not. If you are select yes but in this case if you aren’t then choose no.
• You’ll then need to enter your Name, then your Surname and your ID number.
• It’ll ask you to confirm your that you are opening a CABS Textacash account. After you have agreed you are all set.

At this point, I should stress that the CABS Textacash account is a KYC Lite account and not a full account. It’s a lot better than mobile money (in terms of restrictions) but shows the glaring hole in CABS/Old Mutual’s rollout that they didn’t include the option to open a full KYC account like FBC through the USSD. Or like NMB offer you a lite account option but with a remote way to then upgrade to a full KYC account.

Insurance

The Insurance aspect of it is pretty cool. On USSD or WhatsApp you can top up your current plan or sign up for a new one be it Old Mutual’s Flexi Funeral Cover or vehicle insurance.

Here are the steps for Vehicle Insurance:

• Dail *227#
• Select Option 2 “Insurance Services”
• Choose Buy “Vehicle Insurance”
• You’ll then get options for 3rd party cover with options for packages with or without a ZINARA disk and a Radio Licence
• Next, you’ll need to enter the vehicles registration number, the duration of the plan, your ID and then confirm
• The final steps are to choose your preferred payment (CABS account or Mobile Money) option and confirm the purchase.

Investment

Yet another really cool addition. If you are looking to squirrel some money away into Old Mutual’s Unity Trust Equity Fund then you can now do it on the MyOldMutual platform. The starting amount to deposit is ZWL$500 which you can pay through your CABS account or mobile money.

Old Mutual’s Fund is pretty reputable. The group is in 13 markets on the continent and has its hands in a number of different sectors of the economy. From all accounts, the Fund is well managed and this I think presents a good opportunity to get one’s feet wet in the investment game.

You can access this service by selecting option 3 in the *227# USSD or on WhatsApp and follow the prompts.

Something was missing though…

When the promotional material for the launch came out, there was one omission which was a mobile application. This was quickly cleared up by the announcement that a mobile app will be coming soon. It will also be launched in conjunction with a web portal and an eCommerce solution for existing and new/prospective Old Mutual customers.

I certainly hope that when the app and web portal roll around they are data-free or zero-rated out of the gate. Absorbing the cost of data for customers who want to access an institution’s online services is yet another thing that is soon becoming an industry standard. Zimbabwe already has eight banks that are offering it in one shape or form. It would be a shame if Old Mutual/CABS wasn’t part of the zero-rate revolution.

You can watch the launch of Old Mutual’s USSD and WhatsApp platform with the link here.

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