The National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) says it is projecting to hit between K45 billion to K50 billion in membership contributions by 2021, expected to be triggered by digital platforms.

And MTN Zambia says subscribers on its Mobile Money platform have leaped to around 1.5 million and are expected to grow even further due to the positive uptake in the digital space.

Speaking during the joint launch of the Mobile Money solution by NAPSA and MTN Zambia, NAPSA Director-General Yollard Kachinda said the Scheme is projecting to hit an unprecedented K45 billion to K50 billion in membership contributions, buoyed by growth in its eNAPSA online platform.

Kachinda said this in response to questions from journalists who wanted to know, among others, what impact the new innovative tool would have on the Scheme’s membership contribution.

NAPSA officially rolled out the MTN Mobile Money platform on its eNAPSA portal, Thursday, as a means to help employers pay NAPSA contributions.

“We see a growth in terms of membership. We are targeting that by 2021, we should grow the membership of NAPSA to 1.5 million [members]. For the past three years, the fund has grown from about K14 billion up to June this year, we are now standing at K24 billion; that is phenomenal growth. And we are projecting that at the end of our strategic period, which is 2021, this fund should be somewhere around K45 billion to K50 billion,” Kachinda said at NAPSA’s Head Office.

“And all this fund is being invested within the country. So, the impact in terms of contribution growth is phenomenal because now, we are bringing in more members, and obviously, the multiplier effect becomes bigger and then we now grow the economy.”

He added that the introduction of the MTN Mobile Money platform was critical for the Pension Scheme’s growth.

“…And also to ensure that a lot more people become members, are onboard and onto the Scheme. So, this is very critical for us; and steady coverage and also grow the Scheme so that we are able to pay benefits when they fall due,” Kachinda added.

He also further assured that the Mobile Money platform was secure in response to questions surrounding potential security threats.

And MTN Zambia chief executive officer Charles Molapisi disclosed that the network provider has grown its customer base on the Mobile Money platform to around 1.5 million.

“MTN is committed to Zambia; we are the number one network in the nation. And Mobile Money for us, today, we have got about close to 1.5 million customers; three years ago, the company had about 135,000 Mobile Money customers,” said Molapisi.

He further noted that MTN’s partnership with NAPSA was fundamental in the mobile money ecosystem.

The official launch also demonstrated how employers could make quick and efficient membership contributions that easily identify the contribution amounts in line with the appropriate salary scales per employee.

Using the USSD menu on the *677#, employers, particularly the self-employed and those with few employees, such as domestic workers, can create a monthly return on a cell phone without an Internet connection, and pay their workers’ contributions using MTN Mobile Money.

To pay NAPSA contributions initiated by MTN Mobile Money, subscribers can now dial *303# and follow the subsequent prompts on-screen.

Alternatively, the service is equally available on the eNAPSA online portal.