Above: TSTT CEO Dr Ronald Walcott speaks to the media at the launch of the BMobile Visa Card. Photo courtesy Shiva Bissessar.

A speech given by Dr. Ronald Walcott, CEO of TSTT on September 19, 2016 at the launch of the bMobile prepaid VISA card.

Today is a watershed moment for TSTT as we make our entrance into the local mobile financial services arena. I am delighted to announce that TSTT is the first in the local telecoms industry to bring to the market mobile money.

TSTT’s BMobile Prepaid VISA Card, together with an accompanying payment eco-system and the smartphone App, will radically change the way some of our customers will conduct their daily transactions.

A key Pillar of TSTT’s strategic plan is Business Transformation and the launch of this mobile money solution is part of our overall transformation strategy. Indeed, our partnership with Republic Bank Limited, VISA and Cellmaster represents our opening salvo in the Mobile Money space.

The launch of this Visa Card begins a shift towards one of our revenue diversification strategies while at the same time, initiating new demand drivers for our core services.

So, what exactly is mobile money? Simply put, it is the ability to send and receive money, make payments and conduct other financial transactions using your mobile phones usually connected to what is referred to as a mobile wallet under the associated financial regulations.

In developing and emerging countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, mobile money solutions are a means of extending financial services to the community known as the ‘unbanked’ or ‘underbanked’.  However, the development of mobile money is now pervasive in developed countries and represents the mechanism that keeps customers connected.

The integration of our BMobile Prepaid VISA Card with its associated payment eco-system, represents more than a revenue diversification opportunity for TSTT.  Through introduction of mobile financial services, TSTT is fundamentally supporting the wider economy as we embrace changes to the way in which citizens in Trinidad and Tobago are able to access financial services. 

BMobile Prepaid VISA Card is fully personalised and managed ONLY from your BMobile phone. You can use it for online purchasing; overseas travel; local and international ATM usage; in app purchases. It is geared to enhancing customer convenience in their day-to-day purchases.

The BMobile Prepaid VISA Card has the convenience and reach of a credit card but also the control and security of a Chip & Pin debit card.

You spend only what you’ve put on to your card.  In addition to the card’s latest Chip & Pin technology, customers can also mitigate against Fraud with the real-time App Alert with every purchase.

Further, our customers have the convenience of paying their mobile and residential bills and doing direct Top-Up at discounted rates using their BMobile Visa Card. So, while we are in the process of transforming ourselves into an agile broadband company, we are also transforming our fellow citizens into 21^st century connected customers.