Together the companies are set to launch a mobile banking and payment service, Warid Pesa, in Uganda. Launched in the wake of growing demand for mobile payments in Uganda, Warid Pesa provides a prepaid account that enables customers to perform e-money transactions, pay for goods and services as well as settle accounts.

Warid Pesa is based on Obopay's proven open and interoperable mobile money solutions, which now support millions of customers globally for some of the world's largest brands. Obopay's platform enables a comprehensive range of use cases that drive incremental transactions and revenue providing a bridge between new and existing payment technologies. The service enables new channels of distribution for offering financial services that are useful in areas with income disparity. It can be used on any device - even on inexpensive pre-paid mobile phones - and the graphic interface has been given a simple design so that anyone can access it easily.

With Warid Pesa, customers can perform the following mobile money functions:

Person-to-person mobile money transfer
Person-to-merchant mobile money transfer
Send money to anyone
Request money
Obtain a mini statement of the account
Balance inquiry
Change Personal Identity Number (PIN)
Top up prepaid cell phones for yourself or another person

"We understand that financial inclusion is the most important aspect in alleviating poverty in Uganda," said Shailenrda Naidu, Chief Commercial Officer, Warid Telecom, Uganda. "Warid Pesa is an attempt to establish innovative and convenient mobile money transfer and payments for those who don't have access to banking service.

"Obopay's pioneering services have been received very well in other African countries. Our association with Obopay is an assurance that the people of Uganda are provided with the best possible service in the country," added Naidu.

The government of Uganda recognizes that mobile banking and payments are major catalyts are mts are major catalysts in the drive toward financial inclusion in Uganda. Through Warid Pesa, people of Uganda can avail themselves benefits of financial services that were until now inaccessible to a majority of the population.

"Warid Telecom is an important strategic partner for us and comes at the right time as we have been interested in venturing into the Ugandan market for some time," said Deepak Chandnani, CEO, Obopay. "Our platform is ideally suited for the Uganda market. The service encompasses not only the needs of the consumer, but also is beneficial for retailers, agents and merchants."

Intending that mobile payment capabilities should be accessible to all Ugandans, Chandnani said Obopay created its technology for all types of cell phones and its solutions are accessible via SMS, IVR, WAP and USSD channels."

"Security is also always a primary concern when people undertake mobile payments," added Chandnani. "Keeping this in mind, optimum security has been provided for payment transactions to ensure that there is no money laundering and the users' hard earned money is safe."