STORE OF VALUE & PAYMENTS

Behaviors

• Stores the majority of revenues on MTN Mobile Money which also serves as a payment account
• Currently saving to start a side business to generate additional revenues
• Saves regularly
• Preferred cash before COVID-19 but now hardly receives it
• Sends money to family in the countryside via MTN Mobile Money

  Before COVID people paid in cash, now as the government encourages cashless, 99% of my clients are using Mobile Money.

Even I have gone cashless, if you ask me for Rwf 1000, I won’t have it because people pay me using Mobile Money.

• Gets paid by clients:
  1. Mobile Money
  2. Bank Account
  3. Cash

Do you use any other cashless payment methods? If someone want to pay with a card, can they do that?

No, they can’t. What they do is that they’ll withdraw their money using mobile banking. Because it’s linked with their mobile money, then can just transfer it to their mobile money and then they can pay me with it.

Conveniences

• MTN - Mobile Money pros:
  • Most people use MTN - Mobile Money
  • Easy access
  • Quick Transactions
  • Has a proof that money was actually sent
  • Has agents for cashing out everywhere
  • Reliability

The problems is we are used to MTN services. Our families, friends, bosses, clients, they all use MTN. It’s hard to call someone and for someone to call you back when they are in another network.

• Airtel pros:
  • Good service for not charging for transactions
  • Good advertisement
  • Fast Internet

So, if you look at the cost-effectiveness, and internet speed, Airtel is the best [in Rwanda].

The reason why we’re sticking to MTN is that our people, our friends are on MTN. So, it’s hard to tell someone: “Do you have Airtel? I want to send you some money.” But as people buy Airtel for internet, they’ll end up using it for other services too, like SMS and calling even mobile money.

BED.MONEY NOTES This participant has confirmed something we found interesting in other user personas and that is that they have never experienced to send money to someone who is using a different provider, like Airtel or Tigo.

Examples :::spoiler Participant 1 Participant 3 Participant 11 :::

Frustrations

• Would like to be able to purchase things on instalments, but is not able to access due to unstable earnings.
• High interest rates when it comes to borrowing money from friends.
• Not knowing if you will be in a situation to pay someone back.

  Nobody knows what future holds. What if you invest that money and you don’t get it back? I would invest in some business, but I am afraid of partnership, most people don’t take it very personally, maybe because they have their main jobs, but it’s different when it comes to sharing a profit.

• Companies and individuals that used services are not working due to COVID-19, so there is not a lot of work.

Money Management

• Uses a spreadsheet to keep track of expenses.

Diary Study

Starting Balances

• MTN - MoMo : 21,865.00 RWF
• Cash : 27,000.00 RWF

Privacy, Security & Backups

Behaviors

• Has an Android phone. Photos and phone numbers are backed up on Google account.
  • Recently downloaded apps:
    • Fighting game
    • Facebook
    • Nokanda - Nokanda asked for a phone number, but they needed it to connect Mobile Money to the app.
• Contacts and media backup and storage are very important.
• Feels comfortable to give out phone number to an app that was just downloaded.

  I feel comfortable because I download it from the Google Playstore. I think they are reliable, and for security, if someone is to infiltrate my phone they are going to let me know. So I feel okay giving my number like that.

• Rarely uses a computer to backup information from phone.
• Would never let a random stranger take photo on the street.

Conveniences

• Is very conscious about pin security.
• Contact, photos, and videos are always backed up on Google Drive.

Frustrations

• Sharing a phone number with an app because it is not always certain that your account is going to be safe.
• Scared that if random stranger takes a picture it might end up on social media.