Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) and the Etisalat telecommunication company signed an agreement based on which Kabul resident can receive and pay their electricity bills via mobile phone.
DABS officials say that this system is entirely transparent and prevents any sort of fraud in the payment.
Head of DABS Commerce Mirwais Alami gave further details about the project.
“This new service is initiated with the collaboration from US Agency for International Development and Etisalat Telecommunication Company. It is running as a test for the time being the Microrayan area of Kabul. We inform our customers through SMS to pay their bills via SMS.”
Etisalat receives financial assistance from the US Agency for International Development for the construction of this project.
“USAID knows mobile money is an investment that can fundamentally transform the lives of Afghans, just as we have seen in other countries around the world. We encourage all Afghan ministries to utilize mobile money to improve service delivery efficiency and effectiveness,” – said the Director of USAID’s Economic Growth and Infrastructure Office Charles Drilling at the ceremony marking the launch of the service.
USAID has signed innovation grants with three major Afghan mobile network operators: Etisalat, MTN, and Roshan M-Paisa to support the expansion of mobile money in Afghanistan. These grants enable more than 100,000 Afghan mobile phone customers to pay their utility bills, receive their salaries, transfer funds to friends and family members, and receive loans to grow their businesses.
In 2001, Afghanistan had only one mobile phone company with 21,000 subscribers. Today, there are four companies with more than 16 million subscribers.
“Etisalat is proud to be leading the way in empowering the Afghan people by giving them the possibility to pay their electricity bill via their mobile phones,” – said Etisalat Afghanistan CEO, Ahmed Alhosani. “DABS is constantly seeking innovative solutions that bring value to the lives of Afghans, “added DABS Chief Executive Officer Abdul Razique Samadi.
A total of 451,000 of PECO’s 1.6 million customers, including half of commercial and 87% of industrial accounts, have switched to competitive electric suppliers.