Wireless Operator Voila, Unibank and
international relief agency Mercy Corps have teamed up to introduce
a mobile money solution in Haiti.
Voila, a subsidiary of Seattle-based Trilogy
International Partners, will offer a mobile money service allowing
Mercy Corp’s cash-for-work, grant and food voucher recipients to
use their phones as mobile wallets.
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This partnership will use wireless technology
to spur recovery and development in Haiti and will allow Haitians
to store value, withdraw money, transfer funds and make payments
using their mobile phones.
Over the next 9 months, approximately 100,000
Haitians in the impoverished Central Plateau and Lower Artibonite
regions will benefit from Mercy Corps’ cash programs, which will
use Voila’s wireless network to make as many as 250,000
transactions.
“The acute needs of the Haitian people require
fast action and mobility,” said Trilogy CEO Brad Horwitz.
Relief organisations need access to the most
efficient methods of distribution possible to minimize the cost of
providing needed services and programs. Voila’s technology platform
provides a critical link between relief agencies and the Haitian
people.”
Voila and Unibank, Haiti’s largest bank are
seeking approval from Banque de la Republique d’Haiti to expand the
mobile wallet solution and intend to deploy a broad range of mobile
money services to the country’s ‘unbanked’ population.
The new service has been tested in a series of
pilot programs over eight months and overall the response has shown
that Haitians are ready to use mobile money for their banking
needs.
