MBABANE — Eswatini Mobile is positioning its e-Mali digital wallet as the go-to platform for everyday transactions, from buying groceries and paying for transport to settling school fees, municipal bills and utility accounts.
The service, which runs on the mobile network’s USSD platform, allows customers to pay, send and receive money using their phones without needing a bank account or internet connection. Eswatini Mobile Head of Sales and Marketing Nosipho Xaba said e-Mali was built around the way people manage money in their daily lives.
“e-Mali is about making everyday transactions simpler. We want people to see it as more than a platform for sending money. It is a wallet that can be used to pay, receive and manage money in your daily life,” Xaba said. 
The platform supports a growing list of merchants and service providers. Customers can use e-Mali at restaurants including KFC Drive Thru Mbabane, Debonairs, Steers, Spur, Smoke and Grill, Jazz Friends, Ramblas and Futis. It is also accepted at selected fuel stations and convenience outlets such as Puma Mhlaleni, Total Riverview, Robs Filling Station, Fuleco and Woodland’s Convenience Centre.
For household bills, users can pay the Eswatini Water Services Corporation, Eswatini Electricity Company, TV licences and Eswatini Mobile contracts through the wallet. The service also supports payments to savings and credit cooperatives, online stores and ticketing platforms, giving customers another option for digital purchases.
“The proposition is simple: Make e-Mali yakho is the easiest way to pay for your everyday needs,” Xaba said.
Transaction limits are set at E4,000 per transaction and E10,000 per day, while customers can keep up to E50,000 in their e-Mali wallets. The company said it aims to keep expanding the network of agents and merchants so the wallet is available where people live, work, study, shop and conduct business.
“We want e-Mali to be available where people live, work, study, shop and conduct business. Whether it is a market, taxi rank, school, business or shopping centre, e-Mali should be part of everyday transactions,” Xaba said.
To register, customers must first complete full SIM registration through VELA and the required Know Your Customer verification process. Once registered, they dial 232#, select Register, enter their ID number and receive an e-Mali PIN, which can be changed at any time.
