LoneStar Cell MTN Launches Utility Bill Payment

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of LoneStar Cell MTN, Mr. Tebogo Mogapi, has vowed to put the Mobile Money service here on par with other countries in Africa.

According to the LoneStar MTN boss, the service is about speed, convenient and safety as it relates to financial transaction, especially when it comes to bill payments. He urged Liberians to take advantage of the service as the world moves above the stage of cash economy.

Speaking at a program marking the launch of Mobile Money, Digital Satellite Television (DStv) and Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) partnership at the Royal Grand Hotel Tuesday, the Lonestar Cell MTN envoy commended his new partners for accepting the service to be used at their entities or institutions.

“We want to take the Mobile Money service here on the same level with the service in other countries such as Uganda and Kenya. This is our dream,” said the LoneStar MTN Chief Executive.

“We look back with proud since the launch of this service in 2011. LoneStar Cell MTN and partners are interested in education and the economic development of every Liberian and this is why we are moving forward with this service,” he stated.

He disclosed that since the launch of the service, it has attracted over 300,000 subscribers (customers). He also disclosed that more than 50 schools are currently using the service as a means for tuition payment.

“I want to thank the management of LEC, DStv and our banking institutions for their collaboration in ensuring that this service works for the betterment of everyone.” The LoneStar Cell MTN boss, among other things, urged other businesses and companies to subscribe to the Mobile Money service for convenient customer service.

Also speaking at the occasion, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL), Mr. Charles Sirleaf, lauded the management and staff of LoneStar Cell for what he described as a “great innovation” in the area of financial transaction.

He observed that the service is risk free and convenient. The deputy CBL governor urged the company to extend the service to other parts of the country, especially in remote towns and villages so that it would serve as a means for salary payment.

“Financial inclusion is one of the goals of the CBL, and we see Mobile Money as one of the ways of getting to the masses. We have passed the stage of a cash society. Other countries have gone far ahead of us, and we must catch up. I want to tell you that the CBL is in full support of this program,” the CBL official said.

Mr. Gregory Sylvester, Chief Executive Officer of LEC, said the service adds great value to customers of LEC. “The service is so good and convenient in a way that customers can pay their bills without leaving their homes or job sites. In short, the biggest advantage that we see is our customers,” Mr. Sylvester noted.

For his part, the Financial Manager of DStv, Mr. Prince Nyumah, said the service has stopped people from defrauding the company.

“Since we got in this Mobile Money service partnership with LoneStar Cell MTN, there is no more longer queue. Move over, this service has stopped the kind of fraud that we used to experience. We have experienced great improvement in our system,” he added. The Mobile Money service is currently being transacted at Ecobank Liberia and the Gurantee Trust Bank respectively.