By Mark Kawalya
One of Wave’s key objectives while launching its operations in the Ugandan market was to revolutionize the mobile market. The firm positioned itself as an affordable digital finance player that users could rely on.
Being phone-based, mobile money has been a tool for financial inclusion that has enabled even people living in the remotest areas to access financial services.
However, over time, with increased service fees and taxes being levied on mobile money transactions, the service has become considerably expensive.
Wave has taken advantage of this opportunity by allowing anyone with internet access to send and receive digital payments affordably by using the Wave app. Here are some of the things you need to bear in mind as you start using the firm’s services.
1.Registration and verification
The application can be downloaded from the IOS and Android stores onto your phone. You can register your account using your phone number, which will present you with a QR code that will hold all your account details. This code will be scanned by Wave agents and anyone that wants to send you money.
To make an initial transaction through Wave, you will need to verify your account, which necessitates presenting your national ID or equivalent form of identification to a Wave Agent. Verification is done only once, and you will be able to make subsequent transactions after this initial registration hassle-free.
2.Self-deposits are free of charge
Depositing money into your own wallet does not attract any charge, provided the deposit is made by the account holder. This will be ensured by the Wave agent who will scan your QR code to verify your identity before confirming the transaction. However, if you furnish someone else with your account information (QR code or your phone) so they can deposit money on your behalf using an agent, the transaction will be treated as a wallet-to-wallet operation, which will carry an interest fee of 1% chargeable on the total amount you are sending.
3.Subsidized fees on sending money.
Wave currently has the lowest money sending rates in the mobile money ecosystem. Standing at 1% charged as a percentage of the transaction fee, a user sending, for example, UGX5,000 will be charged UGX50. Additionally, the platform charges a flat rate of UGX12,500 for any transaction over UGX1,250,000.
In a similar vein, withdrawing money from a Wave agent is totally free, which is a good incentive as, traditionally, such transactions can attract considerable fees while using mobile money.
