Pearl Bank partners with TotalEnergies to boost financial inclusion through Wendi

24 October 2025, 2:51 pm

By Ronald Ssemagonja

As part of efforts to bring more Ugandans into the money economy, Pearl Bank (formerly Post Bank) has launched a new financial inclusion initiative in partnership with TotalEnergies Uganda. The launch event was held today in Kampala.

During the event, Peter Ssenyange, the Chief Finance Officer at Pearl Bank, explained the simplicity and accessibility of the innovation, which allows users to access financial services through TotalEnergies stations.

“Five years ago, we thought about a solution to bring financial inclusion to everyone. In those five years, Wendi has supported the Parish Development Model (PDM), COVID-19 payments, and other innovative solutions. Today, through this partnership, Wendi will enable people to purchase fuel, tyres, and other products at TotalEnergies fuel stations,” Ssenyange said.

He emphasized that the goal is to reach people at the grassroots level.

“The good thing with Wendi is that you can use it even when you are on another mobile platform. You don’t have to be a Pearl Bank customer. All you need is a phone number, a National Identification Number (NIN), and a mobile phone—whether it’s a smartphone or a feature phone. At Pearl Bank, we focus on creating solutions that financially include as many Ugandans as possible in the money economy,” he added.

Joseph Wechuli, the Finance Manager representing the Managing Director at TotalEnergies Uganda, highlighted that the partnership makes strong business sense and benefits small business owners.

“Wendi helps small business owners grow their income, manage daily transactions, and make payments easily and securely,” he noted.

It was also revealed that Wendi is free to use, and customers’ fuel purchases will not attract any additional charges when using the platform.

Kanyike Divine, a businessman in Kampala who has been using Wendi for about a year, shared his experience.

“I have been using Wendi for about a year, and I haven’t found any challenges with it. The only issue is sometimes the network can be down, but that’s minor because we all know networks can have challenges. When it happens, you just need to be patient and try again,” he said.