MTN launches mobile money flight booking platform
The service targets a gap that has kept air travel out of reach for many Ugandans. Most airline booking sites are built around international credit cards, a payment instrument that remains rare in a market where mobile money accounts far outnumber bank accounts.
(L-R) MTN MoMo's Jemima Kariuki, Viola Namuyaba, Phrase Lubega with Bafana Sithole from Amadeus and Next Travel's Jonathan Martin Kyeyo at the launch of Travel by MoMo at the Sheraton Hotel.
KAMPALA - Ugandans who have never owned a credit card, but have long carried mobile money on their phones, can now book international flights without visiting a travel agency.
MTN Mobile Money (MoMo) has partnered with Next Travel to launch Travel by MoMo, a digital booking platform that lets customers search, compare and pay for flights using MoMo, with prices displayed in Uganda Shillings.
The service targets a gap that has kept air travel out of reach for many Ugandans. Most airline booking sites are built around international credit cards, a payment instrument that remains rare in a market where mobile money accounts far outnumber bank accounts.
“The smartphone is a very powerful tool today. 99% of all the traders who get supplies from China, use travel agents for booking tickets because the process is complex. They spend more than $50 on bookings alone. This product will be able to help them make some savings on the money they spent on travel companies,” Issa Ssekito, chairman at Kampala Capital City Traders Association (KACITA), said.
According to the FinScope Uganda 2023 survey, mobile money usage rose from 56% in 2018 to 64% in 2023, while formal financial inclusion, which includes bank accounts, stood at 68%.
MTN MoMo Uganda Managing Director Phrase Lubega (left), Chief Product Officer Jemima Kariuki-Njuguna (centre) and KACITA Acting Chairperson Hajji Issa Ssekitto during the launch of Travel by MoMo.
Speaking at the launch, MTN MoMo managing director Phase Lubega said the platform was built solve third party related challenges faced by travellers.
“Travel by MoMo is a solution designed around the realities of Ugandan travelers. We recognised that many people still face challenges when booking flights, from navigating multiple websites to accessing suitable payment options,” Lubega said.
“Through our partnership, we are simplifying that journey by enabling customers to search, compare and pay for flights conveniently through a platform they already know and trust.”
“By enabling flight bookings through MoMo, we are making travel more accessible to more Ugandans, including those who may not have access to credit cards but are active users of mobile money,” Kariuki said.
Uganda Airlines’ own mobile app, launched in 2023, was explicitly built to shift bookings away from third-party agents toward channels the airline controls directly, after officials found that routing bookings through agents cut them off from basic customer data such as phone contacts.
At the time, reservations were split roughly 60/40 between agents and the airline’s own channels, and the carrier said it expected that balance to shift further toward direct bookings, even as it insisted it was not trying to eliminate agents altogether.
Officials said a customer no longer needs to walk into an office or negotiate a payment method with an agent, because search, comparison and payment now happen inside MoMo app most Ugandans already use daily.
The platform also chips away at one of the few remaining transactions where a Visa or Mastercard was often assumed necessary.
Airfare payment, such as for international travel, has been one of the more resilient reasons for Ugandans to seek out a card to settle a dollar denominated fare.