On Thursday, January 16th, 2020, UBA Mali launched Sama by UBA, a money transfer, and mobile payment solution, in the presence of members of the Malian government and key decision-makers in the country.

Sama is a secure financial service that was birthed through a partnership between Sama Money SA, Bamako, and UBA.

Until then, the mobile payment landscape in Mali was largely occupied by telecom operators. Sama by UBA is revolutionising the sector and reversing the trend by offering its services to the three networks available today in Mali. In the second phase of its development, Sama by UBA will be available in several countries of the sub-region.

 The advantages of Sama by UBA are: accessibility in terms of cost since it is up to 40% lower than other money transfer tools, its online and offline technology since it is the only usable service without Internet connection and its availability on WhatsApp; its provision for users to pay their electricity and water bills free of charge; and its offering of top-up services on three Mali telephone networks as well as select TV channel providers.

Sama by UBA already has a distribution network of more than 3,000 points of sale across Mali in partnership with Yara Oil, Bara Muso, Gana Transport, Africa Tour Trans, Gnyongondeme SOBA, the order of Pharmacists, OneTouch, etc. and already has more than 80,000 active customers using the Sama by UBA app in Mali!