Maroc Telecom launched mobile payment system MT Cash, the company’s latest challenge for a slice of Morocco’s financial services sector.

The move comes ten years after the release of its original platform MobiCash. Its new service enables a range of transactions traditionally associated with mobile money platforms including fund transfer, merchant payments, bill settlement and cash-in -out services through an agent network.

Local newspaper promotion of MT Cash advertises transfers on the service will be free until 31 July, with L’Economiste noting the app is available to customers of any mobile operator.

Commercial release of MT Cash comes three months after rival Orange extended its multimarket mobile money service into the country, and follows a concerted push by authorities to promote service adoption and reduce reliance on physical currency.

In November 2018 Morocco’s telecoms and finance regulators unveiled a national mobile payments platform with the target of enabling MAD50 billion ($5.1 billion) worth of mobile transactions by 2023.