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Tag: mobile money

  • Uganda developing law to govern Mobile Money, Internet Banking

    Uganda developing law to govern Mobile Money, Internet Banking

    The Ugandan government, through the Uganda Law Reform Commission (ULRC), is developing legislation to govern how mobile money and Internet banking transactions are conducted in the country.

    In Uganda, mobile banking and mobile money services are provided by institutions such as commercial banks, mobile network operators and non-bank financial bodies. However, the rapid growth of effective commercial transactions with the aid of the Internet has caught the authorities in Uganda off-guard.

    Whereas the government has enacted electronic related laws and is in the process of enacting legislation of data protection, the ULRC notes that it remains a point of debate as to whether these laws will be sufficient and adequate to address privacy issues and maintain the confidential nature of bank-customer relations.

    Despite the lack of direct legislation, the sector now handles business worth trillions of shillings, owing to its speed, accessibility, convenience, affordability and relative safety. But it has also emerged as a frontier for breeding criminality, hence the need for legislation.

    Addressing the media, ULRC Secretary Lucas Omara Abong said the new laws would heighten security of transactions undertaken through Mobile Money and Internet banking.

    The development of the law comes at a time when Ugandans are increasingly falling prey to fraud on Mobile Money and Mobile banking transactions, largely anchored on ignorance. Prosecution of suspects has also been hard due to lack of direct legislation.

    The others issues targeted by the law include consumer complaint and dispute resolution, cross border electronic money transfer and regulation of mobile money services.

    Source: www.bernama.com

     

  • Banks, telcos fight for mobile money customers

    Banks, telcos fight for mobile money customers

    For the mobile money market,these are not the best of times. The platform which allows mobile phones to be used to send and receive money, buy recharge cards, pay bills, use Point of Sale (PoS) terminals to pay for goods and services, among others, is under threat.

    The telecoms companies (telcos) and banks which are expected to jointly drive the process are working at cross purpose. In other countries, the process could be operator-led model, bank-led model, collaboration model and peer-to-peer model. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) chose the bank-led model in which case a bank deploys mobile payment applications or devices to customers and ensures merchants have the required PoS acceptance capability to carry out the transaction.

    Mobile network operators’ network merely serves as vehicle through which transactions take place. This is based on the regulatory framework for mobile payment services issued by the apex bank in 2009, which disenfranchised telcos from operating mobile money except through strategic partnerships with licensed operators.

    The Telcos, have consistently advised the CBN to allow them participate in the regulation of the subsector, but nothing has come out of the demand. The apex bank, which solely regulates the business, has given the Telcos little or no opportunity for control. This model has deprived the business the needed technological and infrastructural backing critical to its success.

    The disagreement has adversely impacted on implementation process of the mobile money platform in the country. General Manager, IBM Africa, Taiwo Otiti, said strategy being adopted by the key stakeholders is stifling the success of mobile money operation in the country.

    Speaking during an interview with The Nation, 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. But many of the stakeholders are doing that”.

    Otiti said the getting the mobile money scheme running requires both the payment and supply chain properly defined and implemented by the stakeholders. He said there is 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 the 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.

    CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi said regulation of the telecom sector is not within the apex bank’s control, making it difficult for it to guide mobile money operations under the telco-led model being advocated by the operators.

    Sanusi, who spoke at the 2013 risk management conference in Lagos, said the risk involved in mobile money operations are so high that regulation has to be closely implemented. He said the CBN does not control what the telcos are doing, unlike in the existing bank-led model where it provides the operating guidelines.

    He said mobile money operators are being encouraged to increase access to financial services through mobile phones that are either directly linked to a bank account or use of mobile wallets as intermediary virtual money accounts.

    Experts insist that the current regime of mobile money regulation, which is being bank-driven, is not friendly to telecoms companies who provide the mobile payment platform. They said that though there was a lot that telecoms companies could contribute in a cashless economy, their current mandate was limiting.

    The thinking is that since the mobile payments business is 90 per cent dependent on the mobile industry, it was unfair that the mobile networks are prevented from advertising their various mobile payment products which are the foundation on which the bank products operate.

    From the customer’s mobile phone, to the mobile payments system and feedback to the mobile phone, the mobile payment transaction utilises mostly mobile resources, makes use of mobile time and is supported largely by mobile engineers, but unfortunately the CBN has restricted telecom companies from advertising in the mobile payments space.

    Analysts also think that telecom companies should be allowed to speak about the capabilities of their networks, the quality of user experience and the choice of mobile payment services available on their networks.

    It is now roughly two years since the first mobile money went live and approaching a year since cashless economy came into operation. Meanwhile, none of the individual players can boast of having more than 10,000 active subscribers.

    The CBN said over the next few years, the focus of the regulator will be to strengthen the institutional and regulatory frameworks to achieve improved financial inclusion. The application of mobile technology for financial services especially in rural areas will ensure that a large percentage of the population outside the formal banking system would have access to financial services using one of the three models of card-based, account-based and virtual account.

    CBN statistics showed that only 26 million Nigerians own a bank account out of a population of 167 million populations. With telecoms subscriber base put at about 120 million by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), there are indeed limitless opportunities for the country to achieve financial inclusion by bringing the large numbers of the unbanked to the banking sector through mobile money,” he said.

    The Executive Vice-Chairman of NCC, Eugene Juwah, said critical success factors for mobile payment in the country are the integrity and security of the end-to-end transition during a payment transaction process. He said the chain of transaction must be secured from initiation to authentication. Therefore, confidentiality and integrity of the data transition are critical factors in mobile payment.

    Razak Olaegbe, a mobile money analyst said Telcos are licensed to offer telecoms services and not banking services. According to him, the decision was made because the CBN does not regulate telcos and if the telcos are allowed to lead mobile money, it will mean putting two critical segments of Nigeria’s economy in the hands of a few companies. This, they believe, portends great risk for the country.

    World Bank said the global remittance market has grown rapidly over the past decade. In 2010, remittances through official channels amounted to $440 billion, of which, developing countries received an estimated $325 billion. The majority of these transactions are still cash-to-cash transactions, but the share of digital transactions is steadily increasing.

    Driven by the development of mobile money systems in emerging markets, experts estimate that $16 billion worth of international money transfers will be received with mobile phones in 2015.

    In Nigeria, the scheme is however, confronted with many problems but the CBN said the draft National Payments System Bill, which is undergoing legislative passage, is expected to address the legal barriers to electronic payments such as the admissibility of electronic evidence in the law courts.

    Managing Director, Mobile Money Africa, Mr Emmanuel Okogwale, agrees that there are still challenges. According to him, most of the companies licensed to do mobile payment are yet to have accredited agents who will reside in urban, semi-urban and rural areas. He argued that without well trained mobile money agents, the implementation would not be seamless as agents with the requisite tools and handsets are the infrastructure needed to deliver the money to the customers.

    Despite the inherent challenges, banks have been launching mobile money products to support their operations. FirstBank of Nigeria launched FirstMonie, its mobile money service positioned to assist the lender’s commitment to financial inclusion.

    “With the launch of this service, the stage is now set for the bank’s customers and anyone in Nigeria with a mobile phone to enjoy financial services, using their mobile phones to send money, pay bills, top up their phone airtime, do shopping, deposit and withdraw cash, without the need to visit a bank branch,” the First Bank Managing Director, Bisi Onasnaya said.

    Also, Stanbic IBTC Bank has reiterated its commitment to financial inclusion by empowering its mobile money customers. The bank said in a statement that it has partnered with Mobile Media InfoTech Limited (MMIT), a mobile software development company, to assist the youths and small business owners who do not have credit cards, to pay for goods through their mobile money wallets online.

    The bank said its mobile money wallets customers will be able to shop on foreign online sites like Amazon, Android store, Playstation and other gaming sites. “They will be given the option of making cardless payments through their mobile money wallets; and with this option, any customer with a smart phone will be able to make purchases on these online sites regardless of where they reside in Nigeria,” it said.

    Head of E-Business at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Thabo Makoko, described the partnership as another step towards financial inclusion for persons who are usually not able to shop online because they do not have credit cards.

    He said: “Mobile payments have taken a new turn in Nigeria and being inconvenienced or excluded from participating in the digital economy is a result of one’s inability to produce credit or debit card details for online payments.

    “We want to provide more opportunities for the under-banked in every part of Nigeria, especially the small business owners; and we want to be known as the financial service partner that opens doors for our customers; empowering them to grow their businesses and lives.

    “Removing the barriers to participating in the digital economy, the online shopping process for small business owners, youths and the under banked will greatly reduce barriers to success in acquiring tools to improve lives.”

    Analysts said the African mobile money market has the potential to grow to a money-making market, but operators, banks and regulators need to work toward developing an enabling environment for business models that meet service providers’ revenue demands.

     

  • Etisalat chief advises CBN, banks, NCC on Mobile Money

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), telecommunication operators and banks need to build efficient mobile money structure that guarantees the project’s success, Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Etisalat Nigeria, Matthew Willsher has said.

    Mobile Money is a convenient, secure and affordable way to send money to friends and family using mobile phone.

    Speaking yesterday at the Etisalat GEM (Going the Extra Mile) media briefing in Lagos, he said mobile money remains a huge business opportunity for stakeholders, but there is need to get the fundamentals right.

    He explained that the GEM project was developed to enable the firm reward high value customers for their loyalty to the brand over the years. He said the customers are rewarded according to how much they spend monthly, as a way of encouraging more people to choose its network.

    He said his firm now has 16 million subscribers base, five years after it started operation, adding that travelers still remain the biggest GSM spenders in the country.

    Willsher said big spenders also have greater loyalty to the brand, adding that the company wants to continue to serve these set of customers better and also reward them. “We want to be stronger with customers that spend more,” he said.

    He said as part of the reward, customers that spend from N10, 000 to N29, 999 monthly will be able to receive calls for free when roaming in the United Kingdom, United States of America, United Arab Emirates and South Africa, among other countries, adding that they will also get free calls and texts on ther birthdays, among other benefits.

    Equally, subscribers that spend between N30, 000 to N49, 999 monthly, will receive calls for free when roaming, get free VIP box Tickets to watch FC Barcelona and special invites to exclusive events among other benefits.

    He added that customers that spend N50, 000 and above monthly, will receive calls for free when roaming, get free medical checkups abroad and free shopping voucher abroad, among other benefits, adding that the gifts are ways of thanking these customers for their loyalty.

    “We thank our customers for keeping us in business for five wonderful years. We celebrate, not just Etisalat, but each and every unique customer,” he said.

    He said number portability is not yet a huge success, but operators can find ways to ensure that the process works better. He said the firm is also interested in corporate and small businesses as well as the higher spending consumer market, while ensuring that these customers get the best quality service.

    Willsher also said the number portability plan introduced by the NCC still needs to be improved on to get the desired result, adding that telecom is about innovation and exhibition of high level of trust.

    He said these qualities have assisted Etisalat in achieving the level of success recorded in the last five years of operation in Nigeria. He however said that telcos have a lot of contributions to make to the CBN-driven cash-less banking initiative, adding that providing quality service is one way to achieve this objective.

    “We track everyday our quality of service and I get a report summarizing each day’s service quality,” he said.

  • Stanbic IBTC, InfoTech partner on mobile money

    Stanbic IBTC Bank has reiterated its commitment to financial inclusion by empowering its mobile money customers.

    The bank said in a statement that it has partnered with Mobile Media InfoTech Limited (MMIT), a mobile software development company, to assist the youths and small business owners who do not have credit cards, to pay for goods through their mobile money wallets online.

    The bank said its mobile money wallets customers will be able to shop on foreign online sites like Amazon, Android store, Playstation and other gaming sites. “They will be given the option of making cardless payments through their mobile money wallets; and with this option, any customer with a smart phone will be able to make purchases on these online sites regardless of where they reside in Nigeria,” it said.

    Head of E-Business at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Thabo Makoko, described the partnership as another step towards financial inclusion for persons who are usually not able to shop online because they do not have credit cards.

    He said: “Mobile payments have taken a new turn in Nigeria and the days of being inconvenienced or excluded from participating in the digital economy as a result of one’s inability to produce credit or debit card details for online payments are over.

    “We want to provide more opportunities for the under-banked in every part of Nigeria, especially the small business owners; and we want to be known as the financial service partner that opens doors for our customers; empowering them to grow their businesses and lives.

    “Removing the barriers to participating in the digital economy, the online shopping process for small business owners, youths and the under banked will greatly reduce barriers to success in acquiring tools to improve lives.”

  • Mobile money agents advocate clear rate for services

    Consumers, merchants and other agents of mobile money are demanding a clear pricing structure for the effective implementation of the process.

    In a survey conducted by Visa Incorporated, the parties said individuals are price sensitive and evaluate alternative options meticulously. The survey analysed the financial services’ needs and expectations of mobile money among about 2,500 consumers, mobile money agents, and merchants in Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Pakistan.

    According to the survey, 90 per cent of consumers expressed interest in making use of these services in the future, but cited cost of calls as the primary reason for choosing a mobile network operator.

    Also, lack of prevalent accessibility to mobile money agents was also ranked as a key barrier to the adoption of mobile money. It said to drive adoption, cash and customer service will need to be readily accessible to meet expectations even as 54 per cent of consumers cited quick and easy access to cash as a key benefit of mobile money.

    The study also found that security concerns associated with carrying cash and the need to quickly send money to family members living far away are among the key drivers for mobile money adoption.

    The study suggested that the success of mobile financial services is determined by how deep a mobile money provider understands its customers and tailors the service to the needs of consumers and mobile money agents – from service menus, to marketing and education.

    It also found there is high awareness of mobile money services and capabilities among consumers in developing economies.

    “Eighty- one per cent of consumers surveyed intend to use mobile money to send money to family members, 56 per cent to pay utility bills and 52 per cent to save money for their family. The primary driver to adopt mobile financial services is the need to protect funds from theft and the ability to more easily send funds and pay bills.

    “Not having prevalent accessibility to mobile money agents is ranked as a key barrier to the adoption of mobile money. To drive adoption, cash and customer service will need to be readily accessible to meet expectations. Fifty four per cent of consumers cited quick and easy access to cash as a key benefit of mobile money,” it said.

    The study included both in-depth qualitative and quantitative research on money management needs, habits and practices as well as factors that need to be addressed for the adoption of mobile money services.

  • How to grow mobile money services

    How to grow mobile money services

    More than one year after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) initiated the bank-led mobile money services , none of the licencees has 10,000 subscribers on its network. In this report,  LUCAS AJANAKU argues that telco-led model would have done the magic.

    Some  mobile telecoms service providers prefer to play the ostrich when it comes to the bank-led model of mobile money services, but not Globacom. The indigenous service provider has always questioned the rationale for the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to initiate the project.

    At a Telecoms Consumer Parliament held at in Lagos by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) about three years ago, which was also attended by a representative of the CBN, a woman, who works with Globacom, sought to know why the apex bank chose to adopt the model. Her question was not answered as market women and less literate subscribers who thronged the venue asked various questions, including but not limited to: “If I buy pepper in Agege Market, would I be able to pay through my mobile phone?”

    Another opportunity arose for Globacom to challenge the CBN initiative at a forum attended by its Director, Telemarketing Unit, Tunde Kuponiyi, in Lagos.

    He complained that the regime of bank-led mobile money regulation is not friendly to telecoms companies which provide the mobile payment platform. According to him, telecoms companies could contribute alot to a cash-less economy, lamenting that under the dispensation, their hands were tied.

    Kuponiyi explained that since the mobile payments business is 90 per cent dependent on the mobile industry, it was unfair that the mobile network owners are prevented from advertising their various mobile payment products, which are the foundation on which the bank products operate.

    “From the customer’s mobile phone, to the mobile payments system and feedback to the mobile phone, the mobile payment transaction uses mostly mobile resources, makes use of mobile time and is supported by mobile engineers, but unfortunately, the CBN has restricted telecoms companies from advertising in the mobile payments space,” he said.

    He stressed the need for telecoms companies to be allowed to speak about the capabilities of their networks, the quality of user experience and the choice of mobile payment services available.

    Kuponiyi hit the nail on the head when he declared: “It is roughly a year since the first mobile money went live and approaching a year since cash-less economy came into operation. Meanwhile, none of the players can boast of having more than 10,000 active subscribers.”

    He blamed the development on the passive role of telecoms companies selected by the CBN.

    The CBN said infrastructure would be a challenge in implementing mobile money and was working on improving on it, although that responsibility is outside its powers.

    CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi met with the Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson, and other stakeholders, to deliberate on infrastructure.

    Sanusi justified his decision to adopt bank-led model, arguing that the regulation of the telecoms sector is not within the apex bank’s control, making it difficult for it to guide mobile money operations under the telco-led model the telecoms operators were clamouring for.

    Sanusi, who spoke at this year’s risk management conference in Lagos, said the risk involved in mobile money operations are so high, stressing that regulation has to be implemented. He said the banking watchdog does not control what the telcos are doing, unlike in the bank-led model where it provides the operating guidelines.

    Telecoms companies have been calling on the CBN to allow them to participate in the regulation of the mobile money subsector, one of the services provided by banks in support of the cash-less banking initiative.

    With a population estimated at 167 million and telecoms subscriber base of 113 million, the potentials of a well-structured and implemented mobile money operation in the country appear to be limitless. The opportunities range from job creation to bringing the huge number of the unbanked to the sector. It will also eliminate the huge cost associated with structural banking.

    An official of Union Bank of Nigeria said: “Everybody is trying to reduce the cost of doing business. Electronic products help to drive your laibility (down). Instead of saying people come and bank with me, just give them good products and they will naturally come to you and this will also drive (down) the cost. Instead of building a bank for N80 million, if I put an ATM that does the same thing or mobile that can satisfy customers’ needs like now, all my bills are paid through my phone. I hardly go to the branches to do anything, so, if we can do that people will bank and reduce the cost of operation for the bank.

    “As these costs are come down, there is no need for the banks to be declaring N40 billion profit. People should not be paying for ATM charges any more, when you use ATM, you will be free. If I want to pay Dstv, they charge me N100. I should not be paying, it is helping the Dstv company to manage cash. They have to worry about the queue and (other discomfort), so if the customer is paying electronically, why are you penalising him for making your process easier? So, what we are saying is that they (the companies) should pay not the customer. We are getting to that point. So the benefit for customer is reduction in cost,” he said.

    But factors, such as low level of awareness, dearth of infrastructure and concealed apathy by the mobile operators to drive the programme have continued to be challenges.

    According to a study carried out by Visa Incorporated and Fundamo, the Visa-owned mobile money platform, the market has the potential to lead the world in mobile money, but only 35 per cent of the citizens are aware of its existence in the country versus an average of 56 per cent across all six of the emerging markets surveyed.

    The study stated that only 56 million of mobile phone subscribers had bank accounts, making it one of the most exciting mobile money markets in the world. “Consumers’ needs for financial services are far more sophisticated than previously believed and go well beyond the established transaction set offered by mobile money services today,” the study added.

    Chief Technology Officer, eTranzact International, Richard Omoniyi, agrees that there was need to step up ‘education’ on the scheme.

    “One thing that is importat is education. GSM is working despite the hiccups. Once in a while, we still have communications issue, but I believe that it’s a matter of time, we will get there.

    “CBN needs to push further, awareness is vital. People still find it hard to believe that in their cell phones, they could send money,” he said.

    The study noted that the success of mobile financial services was determined by how deeply the mobile money provider understood its customers and tailored the service to their needs as well as those of mobile money agents from service menus to marketing and education.

    To raise awareness and drive adoption, it said providers needed to educate consumers on the key benefits and uses of mobile money services, while tackling barriers to uptake. Eighty-three per cent of respondents in Nigeria cited “safety of not having to carry around a lot of cash” as the primary benefit of mobile money, the study stated. They said the number one barrier to adoption in the country was whether the family sent money to would know how to get or receive it, underscoring the need to intensify the campaign on sensitisation.

    Despite the teething challenges in the scheme, Uzor Eziukwu, managing director, Parkway Projects Limited, believes the experience is a phase, a type of learning curve that must be passed through.

    “I don’t agree with you that it has been slow and sluggish. Generally speaking, financial services have their life cycle. We have the same experience with ATM (automated teller machine) cards, which took about three years to pick. We are just one year into mobile money or mobile payment. The response is okay, but there are challenges such as infrastructural challenges but it is still early days. We will get all these things sorted out. I think in the next two years, you will see a huge spike in mobile money transaction in Nigeria, undoubtedly,” he said.

  • Telcos need licence for mobile money banking, says GTBank boss

    Telcos need licence for mobile money banking, says GTBank boss

    Time there was when banks flaunted their numerous branches as a measure of their size or bigness. Not so, anymore, at least for Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc. The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of GTBank, Segun Agbaje, believes that expanding the branch network should not be done in isolation, but as is necessary to drive banks service delivery to customers.

    Agbaje, who spoke over the weekend in Lagos at a forum with Business Editors, said the branch network is the most expensive platform for servicing customers, adding that in growing your branches, you should be careful not to put more branches that will increase cost and reduce profitability.

    He said: “I do not believe that the solution to serving your customers better lies alone in increasing your number of branches. I believe that the solution lies in finding an optimum amount of branches that are supportive of your alternative channels, and that neither one by itself works, they need to mix together.”

    Nevertheless, he said GTBank has lined up plans to add 45 branches this year to its existing 207 branch network.

    While speaking on the direction the bank is heading in the 2013 financial year, Mr. Agbaje said GTBank is eyeing the East African axis. In his words: “The bank will continue its expansion in Africa. We would like to go to East Africa,” arguing that East Africa is more of an Economic Zone than most other parts of Africa. “Its always been there. There has always been a close economic relationship between Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. They also have a sizable population, they are about 20 million. The GDP growth is very good and you also have good infrastructure. So I believe in my perspective, East Africa is a nice economic zone,” he added.

    The GTBank helmsman, said the bank’s desire to explore the East African market does not mean that the indigenous market is being relegated to the background. He said Nigeria is where the bank makes most of its profit. “Nigeria is where I make most of my money. I don’t think the opportunities in Nigeria and East Africa are mutually exclusive. I think we will continue to pursue both,” Agbaje stated.

    On mobile banking, Agbaje spared some kind words for the telecom operators who are clamouring to be co-players with the banks in the delivery of the service, He said as a money instrument, a banking licence would be required.

    His argument: The mobile money banking network is a banking instrument. So if the telcos want to do mobile money, they have to go get a banking licence because you have to regulate the deposits and protect the depositors and the public. So its really not about the banks or the telcos. It’s about the process. If you want to run a banking product which has KYC (Know Your Customer) and has inherent risks, then to do that, you have to get a banking licence,” the GTBank boss, stressed.

    He denied claims that the bank has restricted its partnership with the telcos to about one, or two operators. “We are partnering with all the telcos in our mobile money banking business,” he said, adding that “the platform we have built today is the one that allows us to partner with everybody, so we’re not restricting ourselves.”

    He said in the few months that GTBank started the service, it has registered thousands of subscribers. He said: “We are already approaching about 100,000 active users, and we’ve only been at it for two months, and we are not despondent,” he said.

    Agbaje painted a glowing picture of mobile money banking in the near future. His words: “But one thing I can assure you is that mobile phone is going to become a great focal point of banking, no matter how slow it starts. I see a situation that by 2015, there will be more mobile devices than we envisage, and the cheaper these handsets become, the more the penetration. That is where most of the banking is going to be done.”

    He, however, acknowledged the associated challenges bedevilling mobile banking, saying: “We all know the telephone challenge, we have infrastructure challenge, I think we will get better, just as we have the ATM challenge. It will get better.”

    On the power sector reform, Mr. Agbaje said banks have expressed sufficient interest in the sector. He said every bank has a power sector desk, adding that what is at stake, is whether the banks have the expertise to really understand the power sector. “We all need to move cautiously, it’s a good thing with strong initiative, and we will see how the first round of the privatisation goes, and we will see whether the money to back it is available. We are all moving with cautious optimism in that regard,” he stated.

    Agbaje staved off suggestions that the bank might opt to buy, or acquire any bank, including any of the bridged banks. He said there was no remote possibility of such a union. As put it: “Our DNA is not best suited for acquisition. We’ve never married any other bank in our 22 years of existence, We’ve always been by ourselves, we’ll probably remain so.”

    He underlined the relevance of the Credit Bureaux, saying any insinuation that their relevance has waned, is imaginary. “We are not allowed to give a loan without a credit reference from a Credit Bureau,” he said, adding however that there are challenges of identification. “One of the challenges that Credit Bureaux are having, is the fact that there are no credible means of identification. So even when credit reports come, they are not full proof because people change names. But the truth is, CBs are still very relevant, and you are not allowed, even by CBN regulation to avail a credit without having done a check on the company,” he explained, adding that adopting the bio-metric method will help advance the credibility of the process and make it a lot more robust.

    Agbaje said GTBank’s doors are open to all without any ceiling whatsoever as to minimum balance. His words: “We don’t have a minimum balance. My take on that is, if people want to bunk, we should encourage them.”

    He explained that the reality of where banking is going is that we are going to have frictionless internet banking which is a more robust social banking, and that coupled with strong ATM network, the need for such requirement is no more paramount.

    He said GTBank will continue to leverage on its chosen sectors, which he listed as oil and gas, maritime, construction, the retail segment and telecoms to drive its business.

    On the economy, Agbaje said Nigeria’s economy continues to enjoy a steady smooth, with the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) averaging 7.1 per cent, adding that the growth in Foreign Exchange reserves which grew by 33 per cent in the review period, is expected to continue with the trend this year. He said the single digit inflation rate would prevail in 2013.

    Agbaje said with a profit of N103 billion in 2012, GTBank is the first Deposit Money Bank in Nigeria to post over N100 billion in profits.

    He listed Profit After Tax of N87.30 billion, representing an increase of 68.72 per cent; Return On Equity (ROE) of 33.98 per cent; Francophone expansion with GTBank Cote D’Ivoire and complete divestment from all Non-Bank subsidiaries as some of the major achievements of the bank in the review period.

    Specifically, the bank came tops on Return On Equiity (ROE), posting 23.60 per cent in Nigeria and Africa, while it occupied the second position in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and other peer countries.

    Among its achievements are: Best Bank in Nigeria-Euromoney; Best Bank in Nigeria-World Finance, UK; Best Commercial Bank in Nigeria- World Finance, UK and Best Financial Institution Brand Award-EMEA Finance, UK, while Agbaje, the CEO, was voted the African Banker of the Year by African Banker.

     

     

     

  • Stanbic IBTC launches mobile money

    Stanbic IBTC launches mobile money

    Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited has announced the introduction of the ‘Stanbic IBTC MobileMoney’ application for smart phones. The product is expected to run on blackberry and android operating systems.

    Stanbic IBTC’s Executive Director for Personal and Business Banking, Mr Obinna Abajue, said in a statement that  the development has underscored  the bank’s commitment to provide Nigerians with value-added products and services that suit their lifestyles.

    He said the product operates on a user-friendly platform that offers its users a convenient means of carrying out mobile money transactions from their mobile devices and wherever they are.

    “With the smart phone app, customers can enjoy mobile money services such as airtime purchase, funds transfer to all bank accounts, bills payment, money transfer to mobile phone subscribers, and much more. The application is free and available for download to both customers and non-customers of the bank, including individuals who do not own a bank account,” he said.

    Abajue  described the launch of the mobile application as another step towards leveraging evolving technologies to bring affordable financial services closer to Nigerians  in line with the bank’s financial inclusion initiative.

    Also, the bank’s Head of Mobile Banking, Mr Yinka Shorungbe said: “We are continuously looking for ways to bring new and innovative products and services to our customers.”

     

  • Mobile money firms collaborate

    Mobile Money Operators (MMOs) are to collaborate on Shared Agency Network to foster growth, an official of Fortis Mobile Money, Mr Kunle Ogunmola, has said.

    Ogunmola said the network would provide operators the opportunities to share the same scheme or platform for growth.

    He said: “Shared Agency Network, among mobile money operators, will enable them to have a single access to scheme or platform for growth, as well as reducing the cost of setting up an agency.”

    He said collaborations among the operators on the issue of shared agency network is more popular, as against merger and acquisition in the industry.

     

  • ‘Mobile money uptake to stabilise in two years’

    How long will it take for the mobile money initiative introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over a year ago to stabilise?

    It will take two years, says the Managing Director, Parkway Projects Limited,Uzor Eziukwu.

    In an interview with The Nation, he said tcontrary to the claims in certain quarters, the initiative is not slow.

    “I don’t agree with you that it has been slow and sluggish. Generally speaking, financial services have their own life cycle. We have the same experience with ATM cards, which took about three years to pick up. We are just one year into mobile money or mobile payment, the response is ok, but there are challenges like infrastructural challenges. It is still in its early days, we will get all these things sorted out. I think in the next two years, you will see a huge spike in mobile money transaction in Nigeria,” he said.

    According to him, there is also need to create products that will drive adoption of the initiative. “Our strategy is niche. We try to make sure that as we build for the mass market, basic USSB app that everybody can access, we want to make sure we create cluster app, something that drives users in campuses, groups together, so you find that what we have done is that using the Blackberry device, we can target specific user in that bracket; middle income, high earning and there is a huge market out there of such users and they are able to get access to financial services that are tailored around business needs-education, health and so on. And that is the way to drive adoption. You’ve got to create need to use the financial service as opposed to just providing fiancial services,” he said.

    According to him, the firm’s focus will be on five states where it hopes to have as many as 700 agents, which he argued are more than some of the branches of some banks in the country. “Our focus is on about five states, rolling out to seven and 10 between now and August. So, in these five states, we will ensure good coverage to 700 of these agents scattered around which are as many as most bank branches in the country,” he added.