Reliable sources in the financial services sector, have projected that mobile money market potential in the next five years is worth $1bn. Investigations revealed that close to half of the licensed mobile money operators had launched their various services in a bid to record early hit in the market in the emerging mobile payment service. Mobile money operators that have already launched their various services into market and are planning a nationwide roll out of agents networks to drive their presence across the country include U-Mo by Afripay, Paga, Fortis Mobile Money, GTBank, Stanbic IBTC.
Two mobile telecommunications operators, Globacom and MTN, have recently announced the opening up of their networks to mobile money operators for transfer services even as investigations revealed that FirstBank and Ecobank were also warming up to come on board next year. It was gathered that one area that mobile money operators are focusing on now is to roll out more than 50,000 agents each across the country, while scrambling for the huge telecoms subscribers available on the mobile platform they have signed up to as potential customers early 2012.
Mobile money is the process of transferring monetary values through mobile phones and other mobile devices from one person to another without necessarily carrying cash. It is one of the schemes being ushered in by the CBN to drive Cash-Lite economy in the country, apart from the use of point-of sales terminals, Automated Teller Machines and internet channels for carrying out financial transactions. It was, however, gathered that for the mobile money segment, there is huge opportunity for operators to leverage the over 93 million active telecoms subscribers on various mobile networks as potential market.
The mobile money service aimed at driving banking services to the over 60 per cent unbanked population in the country as well as others with bank accounts but who also want easy way of transferring funds and making payments, using their mobile phones.
The Chief Executive Offices of Paga, Mr. Tayo Oviosu, confirmed in a recent interview that the mobile money market had $1bn opportunity within the next five years, adding that his company was already putting arrangement in place to capture a sizeable market share. However, the Principal Associate, Mobile Money Africa, Mr. Emmanuel Okoegwale, said it was a challenge to place a value on mobile financial services in Nigeria.
4 Ikosi Road
Ikosi-Ketu Lagos-Nigeria234 805 783 8282
234 806 361 2572
234 809 514 5111
234 807 070 8795
234 805 844 9177
No comments:
Post a Comment