The Nation Newspaper

Tag: mobile money

  • Mobile money firms mull mergers and acquisitions

    Mobile money firms mull mergers and acquisitions

    The 20  Mobile Money Operators (MMOs) licensed by theCentral Bank of Nigeria (CBN) two years ago are contemplating merging, The Nation has learnt.

    Some of the companies include  Stanbic/IBTC Plc, Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Fortis Moble Money, UBA/Afripay, Guaranty Trust Bank/MTN and First Bank Plc. Others are Pagatech, Paycom, M-Kudi, Chams, Eartholeum, E-Tranzact, Parkway, Monitise, FST, and Corporate.

    It was gathered that some of the firms may merge because they could not muscle financial resources to overcome infrastructural, financial and agents’ network challenges among others.

    The Business Development Manager, Fortis Mobile Money, Mr Kunle Ogunmola said the firms were considering mergers and acquisitions because of their lean financial status.

    He said: “I’m sure there are moves being made by the operators to consolidate their businesses. The moves, for obvious reasons, might not be known to the public now. The mobile money scheme is still in its early stage, and operators would like to take their time before making their positions known to the public on some vital issues,”

    Ogunmola said mobile money operation was capital intensive, stressing that the operators need to pull their resources together.

    “The big players in the ecosystem are having financial problems. How much more the small players in that are carrying out mobile payment transactions. From all indications, the merger will be between the banks and the smaller firms,” he said.

    Ogunmola said mobile money initiatives requires a lot of money to ensure wider penetration, adding that it is only when they coalesce to strengthen their operations that they can get such funds.

    The Chief Executive Officer, Mobile Money Africa, Mr Emmanuel Okwogale, said mergers and acquisitions was inevitable if the sub-sector is to achieve its goals.

    Noting that the awareness level about mobile money is low, he said operators must also contend with infrastructural gaps.

    He said the sub-sector has the potential to provide transactions worth billions of naira within a month, adding that it will be difficult to achieve this if there is no business combination among operators.

    Besides, he said the shortage of agents is posing a threat to the success of mobile payment transactions, stressing that the firms will grow when they are using aggregated agents network for their operations.

    Similarly, the Managing Partner of One Network, Mr Sola Bikersteth, said mergers and collaboration initiatives are necessary in the face of poor agent network operators have to contend with.

    He said it is difficult for an individual mobile operator to build a large agent network, adding that it would be a lot easier if they coalesce to build the network for their operations.

    In a related development, the Mobility Head, Accenture Nigeria, Mrs Henrietta Bankole-Olusina, said mergers would be necessary for effective performance of the operators. She said a consolidation of existing licensed players as a result of the competition is expected in the near future.

    The mobile market, she explained, will be driven by competition from external players, adding that this can only be made possible when the operators come under a single and vibrant umbrella.

     

  • Mobile money agents seek clear pricing for services

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

    According to a survey conducted by Visa Incorporated, respondents said individuals are price sensitive and also evaluate alternative options carefully. 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.

    Ninety per cent of consumers expressed interest in making use of these services in the future, but cited costs of calls as the primary reason for choosing a mobile network operator.

    Also, lack of prevalent accessibility to mobile money agents was ranked as a key barrier to the adoption of mobile money. It said to drive adoption, cash and customer service will need to be 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 of mobile money adoption.

    The Visa study suggested that the success of mobile financial services is determined by how deeply 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,” it said.

    “Not having prevalent accessibility to mobile money agents is ranked as a key barrier to the adoption of mobile money. In order 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 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.

  • Stanbic IBTC marks first year of mobile money service

    Stanbic IBTC marks first year of mobile money service

    Stanbic IBTC Bank, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, has commemorated the first anniversary of it’s *909# mobile money service.

    At the commemoration in Lagos on Tuesday December 12, the bank reiterated its commitment to continuously deliver innovative products and solutions, part of which includes enhancing the robustness of its mobile banking and mobile payments systems.

    The bank was one of the first organizations licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria in October last year to operate mobile money services in Nigeria in accordance with the Mobile Payments Regulatory Framework.

    Speaking at the event attended by stakeholders from the banking, retail and telecoms sectors, the Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Mrs. Sola David-Borha, recalled that the bank had since 2009 shown commitment to technology-driven branch less banking and enthusiastically embraced the Central Bank of Nigeria’s drive towards an increasingly cashless economy.

    She said the organization’s decision to launch the *909# Stanbic IBTC MobileMoney solution last year was underscored by the bank’s strategic focus of strengthening its universal banking franchise by integrating Nigeria’s huge informal economy.

    According to her, mobile money is a game changer which apart from enabling customers to conduct basic financial transactions such as mobile money account opening, buying airtime, deposit and receipt of cash, as well as payment of utility bills through their mobile phones, also offers enormous benefits to the Nigerian economy by channelling the huge funds in the informal sector through the banking system to engender economic development.

    Obinnia Abajue, Executive Director of Personal and Business Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank, said it was in recognition of the need for market-driven partnerships and alliances with the different stakeholders in the mobile money value chain, that the bank went into partnerships with all the four major telecom operators in Nigeria, enabling mobile payment services to take root, proliferate, and scale up across the country.

    According to Abajue, Stanbic IBTC has recorded significant milestones with mobile money. To date, *909# Stanbic IBTC mobile money has over 600,000 registered customers, over 790 agents nationwide and there have been over 7.7million agent airtime transactions and a total monthly transaction value of N1.3 billion. A mobile wallet can be funded through; a mobile money agent, at any Stanbic IBTC Bank branch, any ATM, person to person transfer, and online through the web, internet banking and through Quickteller, Abajue said. Stanbic IBTC recently won the Nigerian Financial Technology Award for the best use of IT in mobile money services.

     

  • CBN issues mobile money license to firm

    CBN issues mobile money license to firm

    Cellullant Nigeria Limited, a leading mobile commerce network operator, has joined the league of organisations operating mobile money services in the country having successfully secured a licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    The firm was issued the licence last September.

    The apex bank issued the first set of mobile payments licences in 2011 to several firms in a move to make Nigerians access payments services through their mobile phones.

    The Managing Director, Cellulant Corporation, Mr. Goke Akinboro, who expressed delight at the award of the licence, assured that his firm would offer its customers value for their money.

    “Our firm is very excited that the CBN has considered us worthy to be granted a mobile payment services licence. We view this as a challenge to us to give Nigerians very reliable and customer-friendly services,” said an elated Akinboro, adding: “We have already proven our expertise in various mobile wireless applications and solutions that we provide across various segments of the Nigeria economy and it is our intention to do the same in the mobile payments services segment.”

  • Inactive mobile money firms hamper cash-less initiative

    The failure of some mobile money firms to roll out financial services is slowing down the cash-less policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), The Nation has learnt.

    The 16 mobile money operators licensed last year by the CBN are expected to provide financial services and bridge the gap between the banked and the unbanked conservatively put at over 100 million.

    Many of the firms are yet to find their feet a year after their approval, impling that the industry has not fully complemented the cash-less initiative by bringing enough Nigerians into the mobile money transactions net.

    Industry watchers, who spoke to The Nation, said poor funding and technology have hindered the effective take-off of some of the firms.

    The Nation gathered that out of the 16 firms, only Stanbic IBTC, Pagatech, E-transact, United Bank for Africa (UBA), GTBank (in partnership with MTN and Fortis) have started operations by introducing products to galvanise the market.
    Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, E-Transazt Mr Valentine Obi said infrastructure were a problem because mobile networks are just being developed amid low awareness of the benefits of mobile money transactions.

    The Chief Technical Officer, e-Transact, Mr Richard Omoniyi said poor awareness had slowed down the penetration rate, despite the huge investments already channeled into the mobile money ecosystem by operators. He said the issue has prevented the mobile money operators from complimenting the CBN’s cashless programmes as expected.

    He said: “One of the most significant aims of the mobile money scheme is to provide financial inclusion to the unbanked and under-banked in Nigeria. Getting more people to embrace mobile money depends on the level of awareness stakeholders create. The level of awareness is low and many people are yet to see the benefit of the system.

    It is thus important for the government to support other stakeholders to create massive public awareness for the public. In our own end, however we will do more of enlightenment campaigns and seminars to make sure that the service is really circulated.”

    A mobile money advocate, Emmanuel Okogwale said it would take time before mobile money companies can reduce the physical cash in circulation.

    He said while it is true MMOs have not been able to introduce enough financial services, Nigerians should not write off the ability of the sub-sector to help the growth of the cashless agenda.

    “With time, the 16 mobile money firms would help in reducing cash movement in the economy. By the time all the companies fully take off, they would impact strongly on the cashless project,” he said.