AFCOP commends Vodafone for waiving mobile money transfer fees
The Alliance for Financial Consumer Protection (AFCOP) has welcomed the move by Vodafone Ghana to scrap fees on transfers from Vodafone Cash to all mobile money wallets.
Over the past months, AFCOP has been advocating for financial service providers, including mobile money operators, to offer meaningful reliefs to consumers in order to partially alleviate the negative economic impact of COVID-19 on households.
It is against this background that AFCOP commends Vodafone Ghana for showing leadership by elevating consumer interest above its corporate revenue and profit interests.
“AFCOP is particularly pleased that Vodafone did not limit the fee waiver to only transfers terminating in Vodafone Cash wallets,” President of AFCOP, Woelinam Dogbe, said in a release.
With health experts warning that a potential mode of transmission of the coronavirus is through the handling of cash, it was imperative that players in the digital finance ecosystem commit themselves to consumer behaviour change by nudging consumers to choose digital channels over cash transactions.
AFCOP said it believes the most viable way to build a cash lite society is by lowering the cost of using digital channels.
“We, therefore, call on other mobile money operators in Ghana to follow Vodafone’s exemplary leadership by also waiving fees on all mobile money transfers. There can be no greater service to humanity than this, during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the release added
AFCOP further charged all financial service providers to show genuine empathy towards consumers and to eschew tokenism and public relations gimmickry.
Vodafone Ghana embarked on the move enable consumers to undertake transactions on Vodafone Cash in a flexible manner without worrying about the charges.
Consumer Business Unit (CBU) Director at Vodafone Ghana, Pushpinder Gujral, had said that: “This is also in line with our commitment to support government’s efforts by becoming an integral part of promoting a digital economy.
“We hope that more and more customers will use this innovative offer to save more while continuing to do more Vodafone Cash transactions.’’
To send money to other networks, Vodafone Cash subscribers should dial *110#, select option one ‘Send Money’, select option two ‘Other Networks’ and follow the steps.
Customers who have not subscribed to the service yet can simply dial *558# to register.
Non-Vodafone customers can purchase a SIM card from any Vodafone Agent or Retail Shop, provide a valid ID for registration and then activate their cash wallet.