Ooredoo Maldives introduces mobile bill pay service

Ooredoo Maldives signed an agreement today with State Electric Company (STELCO) to enable customers to pay electricity bills via mobile service.

According to a press release by Ooredoo, the electricity bill pay service would be an added transaction to a Mobile Wallet Service piloted by the telecommunication company on February. The service, titled “Ooredoo Mobile Money,” allows customers to make monetary transactions using a virtual account tied to a mobile number and a valid identification card.

“Basically, it’s like a bank account linked to your mobile number and ID. You can deposit and withdraw money and as an added service some merchant services like paying for online shops, some shops, cafés or ordering pizzas is available,” Noora Ibrahim Zahir, Ooredoo’s Executive PR told The Maldives Independent.

The service, currently in it’s pilot stage, allows a limited number of customers, but would be open for all after it’s commercial launch later this month, Noora said.

With STELCO’s agreement, bill pay service will be available to customers of Malé atoll only. Ooredoo hopes to enlist other utility companies, too.

Noora said that this is the first mobile money service being offered in the Maldives, and while utility bills could be paid through BML’s Internet Banking, OMM would allow Ooredoo users to pay the bill even without an internet connection.

“The service can be accessed from a mobile app and through USSD code. Mobile app could be used by customers from any network, but only Ooredoo customers can access it from USSD.” Noora said.