Zambia Telecommunications Company (Zamtel) has launched its mobile money platform Zamtel Kwacha.

Zamtel was granted the licence to operate mobile money services by the Bank of Zambia in 2014. For almost three years, the company has tested the system in-house ahead of the launch.

Zamtel acting CEO Sydney Mupeta said because Zamtel is a government operator, the platform's fee structure is "very affordable" compared to competitor mobile money services.

Transmitting K1000 through Zamtel costs K1, while Zoona charges K51 for transmitting the same amount.

Mupeta is hopeful Zamtel's 1.7 million subscribers will utilise the service and said, "Zamtel Kwacha will help take financial services to the unbanked population, especially in the rural areas. So we are coming in to add to that financial inclusion."

Zamtel Kwacha will compete against Zoona, MTN Zambia and Airtel Zambia, and the increased level of competition could force a reduction in transmission fees as prescribed by the Bank of Zambia.

Tukiya Kankasa Mabula, Deputy Governor, Administration at the Bank of Zambia, affirmed that reduced transmission fees will foster financial inclusion.

Statistics from the Bank of Zambia shows that mobile money accounts in the Southern Africa country have reached close to 4 million, surpassing the current existing number of bank accounts by 1 million.