Kabul, Afghanistan – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with the Afghan government, and the private sector launched a public awareness campaign to encourage consumers, financial institutions, businesses, and the government, to use mobile phones to access financial services electronically across the country.  

This campaign follows a presidential instruction directing relevant Afghan ministries and agencies of the government to use non-cash payment methods wherever practical.  USAID’s Financial Access for Investing in the Development of Afghanistan (FAIDA) project has teamed up with the Afghan government, mobile network operators, financial institutions, and mobile money service providers to raise awareness on these convenient transactions.  USAID and its local partners will implement this campaign through social media, radio, television, and community theaters, as well as other methods.

“Afghanistan already enjoys remarkably high mobile phone usership.  We are confident that, through this campaign, Afghans will come to understand that these non-cash options are already available to them.  This mobile alternative makes everyday transactions safer, more secure and more efficient,” said Mr. Khalilullah Seddiq, Governor of the Central Bank.

“We want to encourage the use this innovative and accessible technology to improve the way Afghan consumers make financial transactions.  The electronic mobile money system will boost economic growth and social development while enhancing safety, security, and comfort for many people in Afghanistan.  USAID is pleased to be part of this campaign,” said Mission Director Herbert Smith.

This campaign focuses on how electronic non-cash (or “better than cash”) payment methods can dramatically accelerate employee salary deposits, reduce the time people spend paying their utility bills, and mitigate workplace fraud associated with payroll.  “Better than cash” payments reduce risks associated with physically transporting, delivering, and carrying cash.  Raising public awareness will increase these types of transactions as a safe, transparent, and convenient way to do business and manage personal finances. 

The FAIDA program seeks to build a sustainable, diverse, and inclusive Afghan financial sector that can generate and sustain quality employment, and meet the needs of businesses of all sizes.  The $108 million program began in February 2011 and ends in August 2016.

• Press Release - Afghanistan Mobile Money Public Awareness Campaign (Dari)