Vendors go ‘mobile’

By Mortimer Yangharry
Market vendors in Port Moresby will now be able to pay their daily fees, make deposits and check balances on their mobile phones.
The Safe Cities Programme, a UN Women’s initiative in partnership with the National Capital District Commission (NCDC) and funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, has partnered Nationwide Microbank to provide Gerehu market vendors with bank accounts that were accessible by a mobile phone. 
UN Women’s project officer for the Safe Cities Programme Samson Yaki said that a survey last year demonstrated that about 80% of Gerehu market vendors were women.
He said they were working to create safer, secure and convenient ways for women to do their marketing.
“Many women vendors told us that on their way home from the market they had been robbed previously, and many were violently assaulted as part of the robbery. 
“Our mobile banking scheme aims to empower women and protect them from violence.  By banking their earnings prior to leaving the market, the women begin  saving and the risk of being robbed and attacked is lessened,” Yaki said.
Nationwide Microbank trained members of the Gerehu Market Vendors’ Association as banking agents, helping vendors open MiCash accounts, make deposits and pay the NCDC daily market fee of K2 through mobile banking. 
Market fees are required from all vendors each day. NCDC uses the money to maintain the markets. 
Collection of market vending fees has traditionally been through a ticketing system but this will be replaced by a BillPay system banking following completion of the market’s redevelopment.
Pauline James, a vendor, said that the MiCash wallet banking system was competitive and user-friendly.

 and empowered them.
“The bank account is free to use and costs only five toea to check our balances.  By helping us to save money, we become empowered by being able to take loans in the future to expand our businesses,” James said.
The Safe Cities Programme and Nationwide Microbank teams will be working in the Gerehu market from 9am to 5pm, from yesterday to Friday.
The team will be available to help vendors open a MiCash wallet bank account and answer questions, in particular about bank accounts, vendor registration identification cards and payment of daily market fees.
 To register for a bank account, vendors require an NCDC vendor registration identification card, a Digicel mobile telephone (cannot be shared with another vendor) and a K10 deposit.
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