AIRTEL Zambia has announced the inclusion of Mobile Money on the Government Services Bus (Zamportal), a platform for payment of various governmental goods and services.

The said initiative is in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Smart Zambia which serves as an electronic catalogue for public services provided by various government institutions.

This is according to a statement issued, Monday, by Airtel Zambia Head Corporate Communications and Government Relations Yuyo Nachali-Kambikambi.

Smart Zambia National Co-ordinator Dr Martine Mtonga said with the inclusion of Airtel Money as one of the platforms for payments, the government was quickly realising its mandate to transform the country through information and communication technologies with the deployment of electronic services, in order to enhance the processes for the effective public service delivery.

“We are excited about Airtel Money being the new addition to the Zamportal platform whose main purpose is to offer brief, correct, accessible and complete information on the public services available in Zambia, with the option of applying and paying for these services online,” Dr Mtonga said.

And Airtel money director, James Chona said with the onset of COVID-19, the country needed to adopt digital services and the cashless economy, not only for convenience, but for security reasons.

“With the onset of COVID 19, the country must move quickly to adopt digital services and the cashless economy, not just for convenience but also for security reasons. This is especially important in light of the Ministry of Health guidelines to conduct social distancing where possible and avoid crowds which often happen when making payments in person for many services. Airtel Money is committed to driving financial inclusion across Zambia, which is boosted by the employment of digital and technologically innovative services such as this platform that enables secure and seamless payments for our customers,” he said.

“With the introduction of Airtel Money on the Zamportal, citizens who already have access to government services will be able to make payments using Airtel money. These services include the payment of drivers’ license renewals, payment for the examination of Motor Vehicle (Road Fitness Test) as well as annual returns with the Registrar of Societies, just to mention a few.”

Meanwhile, Kambikambi stated that the initiative was in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Smart Zambia.

“Airtel Mobile Commerce Zambia Limited today announces the inclusion of Airtel Money on the Government Services Bus (Zamportal), a platform for public electronic services provided by the Government of Zambia to enable easy and convenient payment of various Governmental goods and services. This initiative is in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Smart Zambia which serves as an electronic catalogue for public services provided by various government institutions,” stated Kambikambi.