By Linda Likomwa

Halombe, December 4, Mana: Communities in Phalombe are eager to embrace Digital Finance Services (DFS) as it has been proved to be a fast and secure way of receiving and sending money.

Speaking Wednesday, Traditional Authority (TA) Mkhumba said DFS is convenient considering that transactions can be made anytime, can reduce impulse buying, encourages savings and a secure way of keeping money, among others.

“Our shops have opening and closing periods to provide services, but with DFS you can still get the services you want through on-line transaction,” she said.

Mkhumba said some people have failed to fulfill their plans because they had hard cash and they prioritized impulse buying at the expense of their plans.

She, therefore, pledged to raise awareness in her area together with her 18 group village heads and 106 village heads.

A community member, Patricia Mugwa, from Mahoria Village, TA Mkhumba said DFS would be a way of eliminating security fears people have when they carry hard cash.

Mugwa said government should raise awareness in the community for people to fully understand the importance of DFS because some still have reservations on its use.

“As a country, we have to raise this awareness. For example, today we are here waiting to receive our wages for Climate Smart-Enhanced Public Works Programme (CS-EPWP) and we have been here close to four hours now, but the officials are not yet here to pay us," she said.

Mugwa added that if they were to receive their wages through Mpamba or Airtel Money mobile wallets, they could have been home and others in their small business to uplift their livelihood, noting that during pay day they spend the whole day unproductively.

District Commissioner for Phalombe, Douglas Moffat, said the awareness has come at an opportune time when all beneficiaries of social cash transfer in the district would now start receiving their money using Mpamba.

Moffat, therefore, asked the DFS team to emphasize on issues of security because a lot of people have been robbed off their money.