Two out of three Afghan cannot read or write. Less than one in ten have bank account. However, the vast majority of people across the country – more than 90% - have access to cellular phones.

USAID’s Financial Access for Investing in the Development of Afghanistan (FAIDA) project is making life easier for Afghans to pay bills through a “Mobile Money” solution. Just like loading a phone with credit for calls or messages, Afghans can now load their ‘mobile wallet’ with cash. The cash can be used to send money or pay electricity bills.

Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) or Afghan Power Utility Company encourages electric bill payments using mobile phones. Before the advent of Mobile Money, consumers had to pay their electricity bills at a bank, which could take anywhere from two hours to two days. USAID’s on the ground mission in Afghanistan enables Afghans to sign up to pay their electricity bills via mobile phone, vastly improving convenience for customers and beginning to improve revenue collection, a critical requirement for maintain and expanding access to their electric grid, so far, more than 100,000 households can pay their electricity bills using their mobile phone accounts. The new, easy electronic payment method has improved the cash flow of electricity companies, which can now rely on more Afghans to pay their bills on time. Customers pay their electricity bills via mobile phone, and can transfer money directly from customer account to utility account.