Making utility payments hasn’t always been simple, but it’s an unavoidable part of life that you must do whether you have the money or not. Making Umeme yaka payments has now been made easy courtesy of Yassako, an instant micro-credit facility for utilities, specifically for electricity.
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Here to ensure uninterrupted electricity usage, Yassako is an instant micro-credit emergency solution that enables users to recharge their pre-paid Yaka electricity on credit at any time. It is offered in partnership with Airtel Money.
While still in the pilot phase, the Yassako project, an innovation of Mallan Company Limited, has in a space of just a year grown its customer base to over 100 users every day.
The growing interest in the product is a testimony of how Financial Technology Companies (FinTechs) are helping to solve day-to-day challenges facing millions of Ugandans.
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How Yassako works
The product was introduced after Mallan Company, which specializes in Value Added Services and advanced credit services in the mobile payments space, noticed a gap in the market, when some Ugandans were running out of Yaka ( Electricity) units at weird hours after Umeme shifted its metering system from post-paid to pre-paid, something most Ugandans were not prepared for.
The solution has turned out to be a lifesaver for many Ugandans, who can now get electricity units on credit and pay within a maximum of 30 days.
The company, for now, offers a minimum of UGX 2, 000 worth of Yaka units and a maximum of UGX 10, 000. Each credit attracts a 15% service fee, according to Malcolm Kastiro, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Mallan Company Limited.
Kastiro explains that the low figures are intentional, given that it is an emergency solution. Additionally, they want to ensure that the amounts are not so big for customers to pay back.
“We just take you through that small fix you are in for that moment; probably it is lights, ironing or cooking. We allow you to get enough electricity units to do what you want to do so that the next day you go and purchase electricity,” Kastiro says.
Currently, the service is only available to Airtel customers since it is only offered in partnership with the telecom company. Kastiro, however, says that the company is in talks with MTN to have the service offered to its customers too.
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More credit solutions
Additionally, he notes that the company has plans to roll out the credit solution to pay television service providers such as Dstv and GoTv among others.
However, National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) customers will have to wait a little longer as Kastiro says that the post-paid nature of bill payment makes it tricky. Additionally, the bills involved are also too big.
He, however, expresses optimism that since NWSC has plans to introduce the pre-paid metering system, they will engage it once the system is rolled out in future.
Additionally, there are also plans to engage other electricity distributors, especially those serving the upcountry areas, to offer the service to their pre-paid users.
Eligibility
For one to qualify for the Yassako credit solution, he or she must have been an Airtel subscriber for at least three months. To qualify for a certain amount of credit, one must have spent at least twice the credit value they are requesting for.
To get access to Yassako’s services, visit their website at: http://yassako.com/ or contact 0701661331.
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