Digicel Haiti has relaunched its mobile money service, previously known as ‘TchoTcho’, under the ‘Mon Cash’ banner, with enhanced features and a wider network of vendors and service points for its cellular transaction facilities. Digicel announced that its mobile money service – provided in partnership with Scotiabank – now boasts an ‘optimised’ and expanded network of authorised agents which facilitate the Mon Cash transactions; all authorised Digicel vendors including all electronic Digicel credit (minutes) top-up merchants can now offer the ‘electronic wallet’ services. Opening an account is free with a minimum initial deposit of HTG10 (USD0.18). To attract usage from new and existing mobile customers, Digicel is offering five-times more call minutes on a credit top-up in return for a minimum transaction of HTG10 performed via Mon Cash.
Maarten Boute, Digicel Haiti president, declared: ‘We have relaunched TchoTcho with a new name and logo; but the service is also much easier to use for our customers. Mon Cash offers a much simpler approach to reach as many people as possible. With a much larger network of agents and a portfolio of up to HTG40,000 … Mon Cash is the safest, most convenient, fastest and most economical [way] to send and receive money, on the national territory.’
Mobile money services address the ‘unbanked’ segment in Haiti (where Digicel estimates only 16% of the population have a bank account), supporting transactions such as withdrawals, deposits and money transfers ‘safely’ via mobile phone; Mon Cash also allows the purchase of minutes, payment of goods and services to affiliated merchants and payment of bills. TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database says that Digicel Haiti launched its mobile money service commercially in November 2010, and the service had gained around half a million users by mid-2012.