USSD menus are pretty outdated when you consider the way we usually navigate on smartphones. The fact that you have to remember the codes and then the clunky interface which is prone to user error – the experience is mostly forgetable.
But since USSDs offer real utility they are not going anywhere anytime soon so we just have to get used to them. Or do we? Well, this is where Tosa comes in. Tosa is an application that tries to repackage the way USSD works. Instead of clunky menus, you now get an interface that packages the USSD codes and hides them away in the background whilst the user only gets to see a clean and minimal black/white UI.
Essentially think of the EcoCash app or the Instant EcoCash application and you have a good idea of what’s going on here.
Tosa allows EcoCash, Telecash and OneMoney users to do the following;
- Check Balance
- Send Money
- Pay Biller
- Cash-out
- Buy airtime
- Buy electricity
- Access banking services
A future update will also allow users to buy bundles and pay merchants through the app. At the time of writing, this makes Instant EcoCash the best application of this kind for EcoCash users since it has both of those features already. Both Tosa and Instant EcoCash work offline which is another benefit since the official EcoCash application requires an internet connection.
For NetOne users there is also the OneMoney mobile application and NetOne applications which offer some of those features and compelling features like tariff calculators. In my short experience with the NetOne app, it was pretty buggy and crashed whenever I tried to access certain menus so I can see Tosa might be attractive to OneMoney users.
Telecel also has an application – but that was last updated a year ago and the review of the application complains about the app needing internet access for certain features.
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