NOTWITHSTANDING the fact that telecom companies have notched about 100 million subscribers, financial sector regulator, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has refused to license them to operate mobile money services in the country.
Posted at 20/02/2012 08:20 AM | Updated at 20/02/2012 08:20 AM
By Babatunde Oso
NOTWITHSTANDING the fact that telecom companies have notched about 100 million subscribers, financial sector regulator, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has refused to license them to operate mobile money services in the country.
The CBN, which spoke on the sidelines at the 66th edition of Telecoms Consumer Parliament (TCP) at the weekend at the Excellence Hotel, Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos, said granting telecommunication service providers’ licence might compromise service quality.
George Sansa, a representative of the apex bank at the event, said when the issue of granting licences for mobile money came up, it was debated thoroughly and agreed that mobile operators should not be burdened unnecessarily with offering mobile money services.
Sansa noted that in view of the challenges facing the operators, the CBN restricted their role in the scheme to providing only the traffic for the exercise.
‘The CBN went through a rigorous process in rolling out the guidelines which are of international standard for the scheme.
‘The operators are supposed to be carriers. In order to avoid a clash, telecoms operators were exempted from the grant of operational licences. We want to avoid a clash on interest,’ he explained.
The CBN official said the apex bank has constituted an e-fraud forum, which will not only collate electronic fraud cases in the country, but also investigate the modus operandi of such crime and suggest ways of nipping it in the bud.
He assured that the epileptic power supply would not be a problem, because there were dedicated lines for e-payment connectivity in the country, arguing that with the relentless investment of the Federal Government in the power sector, there appears a light at the end of the tunnel soon.
The issue of depreciating telecoms services has remained a daunting challenge to operators and regulators in the country with subscribers usually left to lick their wounds.
On its part, however, the National Communications Commission (NCC) called on the CBN to establish complaint centres for consumers to ensure quick resolution of issues arising from electronic business transactions.
Mrs. Mary Nduma, NCC’s Director of Consumer Affairs Bureau, said electronic transactions must have windows for quick resolution of issues.
Nduma disclosed that the NCC was collaborating with point-of-sale (POS) vendors to ensure quality and transparent services.
The director urged the Nigerian business community and traders to study the operations of the POS vendors and electronic transactions to boost their interaction.
Nduma observed that it was, however, necessary to keep residents of Lagos, especially those at the grassroots, abreast of electronic transactions, to enable them understand how it affects their businesses.
She assured consumers of the synergy between the CBN and NCC that enabled them to protect their mobile transactions.
Nduma appealed to the CBN to spread its enlightenment campaigns to major markets in Lagos metropolis, as well as the rural areas.
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