Telecommunications service
providers have renewed clamour to lead mobile money initiative in Nigeria on
the basis that the current model has not been impactful on the economy.
Today
News report continues:
Current
status showed that mobile money is still majorly bank-led in the country, as
the operators championing the revolution are from the financial sector.
Telecommunication
companies have been restricted to providing the infrastructure for mobile
money, through which bank services can be offered. This has proved less
attractive to the telecommunication companies in the country.
According
to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Airtel Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya, mobile
money services have refused to pick up considerably well in Nigeria because the
telecommunications operators have not been allowed to champion it.
Speaking
at an Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) organized
reception for the Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Communications
Commission (NCC), Prof. Umaru Danbatta, in Lagos, at the weekend, Ogunsanya
said: “Mobile money is not taking off well because right pillars have not been
allowed to champion it in Nigeria. There is need for a change in the model.”
According
to him, mobile money would do well, creates more jobs and boosts the economy if
telecommunications operators are allowed to champion the initiative in the
country as it is been done in other climes, where it had been very successful.
Though
as at the first quarter of this year, the value of mobile money transaction in
the country was put at ₦40 billion monthly, the Airtel Nigeria CEO called on
Danbatta to look into the matter and find a way around making the suggestion of
a telco-led mobile money work in the country.
Meanwhile,
statistics have shown that there are currently 21 mobile money operators in the
country, which comprised 15 non-bank operators and six bank operators that have
been carrying out commercial operations since the introduction of the service
in 2011.
The
guidelines in Nigeria showed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is authorized
by section 47 of the CBN Act, which deals with payment and settlement systems,
to promote and facilitate the development of efficient and effective systems
for the settlement of transactions including the development of electronic
payment systems, hence the powers to issue the aforementioned guidelines.
The
Guidelines specify the minimum technical and business requirements for the
various recognized participants in the industry and aimed to promote the safety
and effectiveness of the industry services.
Two
models of mobile money services are identified and established by the
Guidelines. These include the Bank-led Model, which recognizes a bank or
consortium of banks rendering mobile money services either alone or in
partnership with other approved organizations. It however stipulated that the
Lead Initiator shall be a bank.
The
Non-Bank led Model on the other hands recognizes duly licensed corporate
organizations delivering mobile money services. It however, specifically stipulates
that the Lead Initiator must be a duly licensed corporate organization other
than a deposit money bank (DMB) or a telecommunications provider.
The
CBN regulation of the telecommunications operators in this guideline is mostly
concerned with preventing monopoly or anti-competition practices in the mobile
money services industry.
According
to the apex bank, the telecoms operators are to provide the telecommunications
network infrastructure and are prohibited from favouring any MMO over another
in terms of traffic and price.
The telcos are of course, according to CBN to ensure that mobile money services remain free and that airtime value is not used for payment or transfer of monetary value. They are also to file monthly statutory returns to CBN including; nature, value and volume of transactions, incidents of fraud and nature and number of consumer complaints.
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