Disagreement between CBN, NCC impairs mobile money implementation

From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

The General Manager, IBM Africa, Taiwo Otiti, had attributed delay in implementation process of the mobile money platform in the country to disagreement between regulators of banking and telecom business.

Otiti who said that the development has adversely impacted on mobile money business called for collaboration among the relevant stakeholders.

According to him, strategy being adopted by the key stakeholders is stifling the success of mobile money operation in the country.

Speaking during an interview with the journalists he said: “The approach we have taken in mobile money is the challenge. We have over 30 million unbanked, compared with over 100 million mobile phone users.

The guys who are unbanked, they may have mobile phones, but how would you get them into the financial system. You must be able to get into his lifestyle for you to be able to get him subscribe to mobile money scheme. Many of the stakeholders are doing that.”

Otiti said that getting the mobile money scheme running requires both the payment and supply chain properly defined and implemented by the stakeholders adding that there was need for a paradigm shift that sees all the stakeholders working together.

“The telcos can’t also do without the banks, so also are the banks. It is only by collaboration, will the mobile money project begin to deliver the needed results,” he said.

He said the stakeholders should not think of who owns the customer, but focus on products and services that can attract more customers into the scheme because nobody owns the customer.

“Nobody owns the customer. What is important is collaboration that ensures that end-user gets what he wants. We need to see mobile money in terms of what the customer can get and use in improving his lifestyles,” he said.