How will MTN mobile money service work?

With MTN and GTB emerging and shooting straight for the mobile money market, what do you think about this collaboration and the stiff competition it would bring?


NigeriatechGuide
"MTN Mobile Money is a service that enables users send and receive money with their mobile phone. Mobile Money is offered by MTN in collaboration with GTBank. It is one of numerous mobile money services that have been launched in Nigeria over the past few months. Hopefully, this would be the first to actually takeoff.

MTN Mobile Money enables you transform your mobile phone into an e-wallet. Any MTN subscriber with a mobile money compatible SIM can create an e-wallet on their mobile phone and deposit funds in it. Once you fund your mobile money account, you can then pay for goods and services with your mobile phone at participating merchants or transfer funds to friends, family, and clients.

This is How it works

To fully utilise the MTN mobile money service, you need to subscribe first. Cashing fund transfers on MTN mobile money does not require subscription, but almost every other transaction requires a mobile money subscription. You can register at any MTN mobile money agent location or at GTbank Branch Offices and MTN Walk-In Centres.

Registration requires a mobile money compatible SIM. If your SIM is not mobile money compatible, you can buy one from the agent. The agent can also do a SIM swap for you if you want to retain your old number. You will need to fill-in some documentation to complete your MTN mobile money registration.

To fund your mobile money account you need to buy and load an MTN mobile money scratch card. Note that this is different from the normal recharge card for telecoms services. The scratch cards will be available at all mobile money agent locations, GTBank branches, and MTN centres. Mobile money transactions are protected by a 4-digit PIN. The PIN will be required to authorise all your mobile money transactions. So, you must/should keep it safe.

Once loaded with funds, you can then use your MTN phone to pay for goods and services at supporting merchants as well as buy MTN recharge cards for yourself and loved ones. You can also use it to transfer funds to family and friends whether or not they are MTN subscribers. You can also receive funds from other mobile money subscribers directly on your mobile phone.

If for any reason, you need cash, you can withdraw funds (cash) from your MTN mobile money e-wallet from any mobile money agent. You can also use the Mobile Money debit card to cash your funds from ATM machines.

The mobile money service is resident on compatible MTN SIMs, so it can be accessed from all types of mobile phones."

In your opinion what would you say?

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CBN In Talks With NIPOST Over Turning Post Offices To Mobile Payment Centres

With mobile money quickly gaining upon the intrest of stakeholders, the government and players in the industry are working very hard to make sure Agent centres are available to provide the services required.

By BusinessNews Staff

Post offices may serve as mobile payment centres, if talks between the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST) sail through.

Under the plan, CBN and NIPOST will share facilities to promote the mobile payment initiatives.

A senior official, Shares Services Office, Governor's Department, CBN, Mr Chidi Umeano, said the apex bank had discussed with the management of NIPOST on the possibility of using its offices nationwide. He said CBN task the decision because NIPOST has several abandoned offices that can be upgraded for mobile payment needs.

He said if the arrangement worked, NIPOST's offices would play key roles in the growth of mobile payment services.

Umeano spoke at a capacity building workshop for microfinance bank(mfb) operators.

He said: "Instead people buying stamps in NIPOST offices, they would be going there to buy e-values, and later convert it to cash across the country."

Umeano said provisions had been made for payment options, such as Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards, Point of Sales (POS), Web Banking, among others.

He said depositors who withdraw over N150,000 across the counters in Lagos would be sanctioned as from January 1, while those in other states would be penalised as from June 2012.

He said errant depositors would lose 10 per cent of the amount they withdraw in excess of N150,000, adding that the development would make people to use electronic payment terminals provided by the banks.

Also, the Deputy Post Master-General of the Federation, Mr Yashin Bitiyong, said NIPOST has initiated discussion with the CBN and the twenty three banks to promote mobile banking services in the country. Bitiyong said when the discussion sails through, NIPOST's customers would be able to key into networks provided by the banks and the e-payment service providers to get the services they are looking for.

"The banks and the e-payment service providers would provide networks that would facilitate mobile payment services. NIPOST would key into networks to ensure that its customers wherever they are, link up and get the services they are looking for".

He said NIPOST is not only discussing with CBN and the banks, but its building relationship with technology providers to achieve the desire results. Bitiyong said the agency would use its relationship with the Universal Postal Union (UPN) to advantage by opening its own software soon.

"We are opening our own software based on the relationship we have with other countries at the Universal Postal Union. UPN is an association of countries tasked with the objective of developing postal services globally. Being the Nigerian representative at the Union, we would ensure that we open our own software. We would bring the software to Nigeria, and we would use the software at the most backward end. I'm talking about rural areas. We would find telephone, especially handsets useful in this regard. We want to open our network to receive messages from the telephone, in order to enhance the growth of the mobile payment services," he added.

Similarly, the Chairman, National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB), Lagos State Chapter, Mr Olufemi Babajide, said the cashless banking programme is feasible in the country.Babajide said microfinance banks have important roles to play in mobile banking, in view of its strength and objectives. He said the microfinance sub-sector has a market size of over 50 million, representing about 65 per cent of the unbanked population in the country.

What do you think of this?

 4 Ikosi Road

 Ikosi-Ketu

 Lagos-Nigeria

234 805 783 8282
 234 806 361 2572
234 809 514 5111

234 807 070 8795

234 805 844 9177
 

 

MTN Nigeria ties up with GTBank for mobile money

culled from Telecompaper.com
Nigeria's GTBank has entered into a strategic partnership with MTN Nigeria to launch mobile money, targeted at the over 30 million unbanked people of the country, Daily Trust reported. GTBank CEO Segun Agbaje said that Mobile Money will help mobilise funds from the unbanked and channel the funds to productive sectors of the economy where they are needed. Subscribers will be able to transfer money, pay bills, top up airtime and shop from their mobile phones, among other things, he said. According to Agbaje, financial inclusion is what the product is about. This will help drive the growth and development of the Nigerian economy, as funds will be made available to critical sectors.

This partnership will thrive.

 4 Ikosi Road

 Ikosi-Ketu

 Lagos-Nigeria

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 234 806 361 2572
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ETRANZACT BEGINS MOBILE MONEY OPERATIONS, TARGETS 50,000 AGENTS

eTranzact begins mobile money operations, targets 50,000 agents
Written by Dayo Oketola

eTranzact International Plc, one of the first companies to receive mobile money licences from the Central Bank of Nigeria, has inaugurated its mobile money service: PocketMoni.

The mobile money solution is mainly targeted at the country's over 80 million adults who have never had bank accounts and it is expected to draw them into the formal financial landscape by providing access to financial services at affordable rates.

Speaking during the introduction of the m-Payment solution to journalists in Lagos, on Friday, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Valentine Obi, said PocketMoni was a mobile payment solution developed for any mobile user with any mobile phone to conduct transaction anytime anywhere.

He said, "With PocketMoni, your mobile phone becomes your bank while your mobile number becomes your account number. It fits perfectly into your lifestyles. It will allow you to conduct mobile transactions on your phone."

The eTranzact boss explained that the m-Payment service was designed for everyone including the old and the young, upwardly mobile youths, artisans and students.

Speaking on how it works, Obi said PocketMoni allowed subscribers to send money, free-of-charge to any bank account or mobile phone in the country, adding that they could also pay their DSTV, HiTV, MyTV, PHCN bills, among others, via their mobile phones.

He also said a subscriber could also recharge his phones and get up to five per cent bonus on all airtime top up on all networks.

He added that subscribers could not only pay for goods with their mobile phones, but would enjoy all transactions at no costs.

He, however, said the free-of-charge offer would only last for one year, adding that it was aimed at encouraging people to embrace the cashless initiative.

According to him, the new m-Payment solution was introduced into the Nigerian market just about the right time considering the fact that the cashless system takes off in Lagos as a pilot project, from January, 2012.

"Going cashless is the right way to go. It is a lot of savings for the country.

"There will be a lot of challenges but they will soon be surmounted."

Obi, who disclosed that the e-Payment company already had agents locations across all the states of the federation, noted that efforts had been put in place to increase its agent networks to 50,000 in the next 12 months.

He said, "We already have locations in all the states but our plan is to roll out 50,000 agent network before the end of 2012. We have started before but we had to stop because the CBN asked us to, however, there is now a green light and we will begin to recruit agents again and train them. This will enable us to cover the rural areas where basic former financial services are lacking."

He explained that the m-Payment solution could be used either on the GSM or CDMA network, adding that eTranszact would not discriminate between one network and another.

"According to our licence, the CBN has told us that we are independent and must not discriminate against any network. Our mobile money service is already on the GSM and CDMA networks."

The General Manager, Mobile Payment Services, Mr. Patrick Eregie, said a user was only required to send an SMS to a short code to have a mobile money account opened.

 4 Ikosi Road

 Ikosi-Ketu

 Lagos-Nigeria

234 805 783 8282
 234 806 361 2572
234 809 514 5111

234 807 070 8795

234 805 844 9177
 

 

MfBs, mobile money as vehicles for financial inclusion

By Amaka Abayomi, Vanguard

Across the developed world, access to financial services is largely at ones' fingertips; there is an abundance of cash and credit on demand, from multiple channels, any locations, and 24 hours a day. But, this story is very different in the developing countries like Nigeria is still high as findings have shown that the number of households without access to financial services in Nigeria remains high.

Financial inclusion, which is the delivery of financial services at affordable costs low income segments of society, has been identified as a plank to lift a large fraction of the unbanked population in countries across the world, especially Nigeria, out of poverty and hunger and bring them into the financial system.

The introduction of cashless policy and mobile money, financial experts say, would better enhance financial inclusion in Nigeria as over 90 million mobile phone users would have access to financial services.

This is because mobile money is designed to meet the needs of the unbanked without a formal bank account with a microfinance or commercial bank. The money on your mobile account is kept in a bank and managed on your behalf by the scheme operator.

One does not need to register with any licensed operator before one can conduct any financial transaction. All that is needed is to have the sender's details and authorization code to withdraw the funds at any licenced mobile money agent location. However, it will be more cost effective for the sender if you register as a mobile money subscriber in case you keep receiving mobile money transfers.

Buoyed by this, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently issued operating licenses to 12 mobile firms. The firms include: Fortis Money, UBA/Afripay, GTBank Mobile Money, Pagatech, eTranzact, Monetise, Eartholeum, Paycom, FET, Ecobank and Kudi.

According to the Head, Business Development, Fortis Mobile Money, Mr. Kunle Ogunmola, due to the wide reach of MfBs, Fortis Mobile Money is partnering with MfBs for the cashless policy to be effective and achieve its objectives,

"Mobile money is using a mobile phone as a means of authentication to conduct basic financial services like savings, remittance, payments, access to cash and other allied financial services in a convenient and secure manner from the comfort of their mobile phones, 24/7.

"It would allow people with mobile phones conduct seamless financial transactions. Your money is stored in a real bank account and not your phone, and it takes away the stress of queuing up at the banks or going to look for an ATM machine."

For the Chairman, National Association of Microfinance Banks, Lagos State chapter (NAMBLAG), Mr. Olufemi Babajide, by partnering with one of the licenced mobile money operators, the state chapter would play the role of an aggregator which automatically makes all MfBs in Lagos agents.

According to the Central Bank of Nigeria, some of the benefits accruable to the Nigerian economy from the adoption of the mobile money technology include: reduced cost of handling cash, cost of funds, improved national planning, financial inclusion, understanding of the country's true Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by the CBN, avoiding sub-charges from banks by customers, reduction in robbery incidences, as well as enhanced economic activities.

Mobile money technology would integrate Nigeria's huge informal economy, which is driven by unbanked small scale farmers, traders, craftsmen and other types of small and medium sized businesses, into the formal economy. This is because the lower transaction costs, convenience and the secure nature of the mobile money platform would strongly appeal to these segments of the society.

On the long term, mobile money will bring about transparency, improved remittances and economic activities across various sectors of the economy, both in urban and rural areas. Therefore, it is imperative for the regulators, licensed operators and other stakeholders to work together to achieve its objectives.

 4 Ikosi Road

 Ikosi-Ketu

 Lagos-Nigeria

234 805 783 8282
 234 806 361 2572
234 809 514 5111

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234 805 844 9177
 

 

AIRTEL MONEY TO TRANSFORM MOBILE COMMERCE IN GHANA

Culled from: nigeriannewsdaily.com

Airtel now Offers the most comprehensive package of mobile commerce and payment features currently available on the Ghanaian market

Airtel Money gives mobile customers in Ghana another reason to join the country's fastest growing and innovative network

Accra, December 15 2011: Airtel Ghana yesterday re-launched its award winning mobile money platform, under a new brand name, Airtel Money, which is better positioned to provide customers with an efficient alternative to cash transactions and provide millions of Ghanaians with access to banking services for the first time.

Airtel Money includes the most comprehensive package of m-commerce and payment features currently available on the Ghanaian market and it seeks to empower its customers with access to a convenient, secure and readily available way of making payments through the mobile platform.

Airtel is already in partnership with leading international and regional banks including Ecobank, GT Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Unibank, United Bank of Africa, Zenith Bank, Energy Bank and Databank to provide customers with more convenient ways of conducting mobile commerce service, deposit and withdraw cash, money transfers, banking services, paying bills, contributing to investments. There are more than five hundred (500) Airtel Money dealers, ensuring the widest availability of Airtel Money throughout Ghana.

Kola Sonola, Mobile Commerce Director at Airtel Ghana explained at the official launch of Airtel Money that the service, which previously was mainly a mobile money platform, had fully evolved into an mobile commerce platform, offering four major services, namely mobile money mobile top-up, money transfer, mobile banking and financial services for micro-finance, micro insurance and B2B services. Customers, according to him, could therefore pay their utility bills, DSTV subscription fees, buy Airtel credit, pay for goods, services and loans through Airtel Money as well as make corporate batch payments and deposit or withdraw cash from a bank. "Airtel money provides customers with a "mobile wallet" which allows them to use their mobile phones in much the same way as a bank debit card. It provides customers with increased security and flexibility, reducing the need to carry cash and ensuring prompt payments of bills, goods and services", he stated. Kola Sonola added that the uniqueness of Airtel Money also allowed customers on other networks to also enjoy the benefits of money transfer.

Managing Director of Airtel Ghana, Philip Sowah explained that Airtel aimed to deliver relevant and innovative mobile solutions to help customers overcome their daily challenges, stating that the company was once again offering Ghanaians the tools to feel free and improve their lives. "Our goal as a company is to make communications, banking, payments, retail and infotainment affordable and accessible to all in Africa", he added.

 4 Ikosi Road

 Ikosi-Ketu

 Lagos-Nigeria

234 805 783 8282
 234 806 361 2572
234 809 514 5111

234 807 070 8795

234 805 844 9177
 

 

GTBank, MTN to drive financial inclusion with Mobile Money

VANGUARD Newspaper

BY MICHAEL EBOH

GTBank Plc has entered into a strategic partnership with MTN Nigeria and Fortis Microfinance Bank to promote financial inclusiveness, with the launch of Mobile Money, targeted at the over 30 million unbanked population of the county.

At the launch of the product in Lagos, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, GTBank Plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje, said that Mobile Money will help mobilise funds from the unbanked and channel the funds to productive sectors of the economy where the funds are needed.

He explained that Mobile Money will afford subscribers the opportunity to transfer money, pay bills, top up on airtime and shop from their mobile phones, among others.

According to him, financial inclusion is what the product is about, especially as it will help bring the unbanked into the banking system, through simple technological inputs and devices.

He noted that financial inclusion will help drive the growth and development of the Nigerian economy, as funds will be made available to critical sectors in need of funding.

He said further that the Nigerian mobile money model is different from others around the world and is designed to provide immense benefits for the economy.

He expressed optimism that the partnership will dominate the country's financial landscape, especially given the necessary support and promotion by all the parties involved.

He reiterated the commitment of the bank to ensuring that the product succeeds and that it contributes meaningfully to the growth of the economy.

He continued, "Mobile Money is the fast, safe, easy, convenient and affordable way to send and receive money across the country and pay for your goods and services using the MTN mobile phone.

"The benefits of Mobile Money, include immediate money transfer and payment from the comfort their MTN mobile phone, while every transaction is secured by a PIN, which even when stolen, the money is secure.

'Other benefits are that it is very easy to use, convenient and cheaper compared to other alternatives, especially as there is no COT or any hidden charges; every transaction is done directly on the MTN line."

Also speaking, Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Brett Goschen, said Mobile Money will not only take banking to the previously unbanked, but it will also open up a wide range of benefits and value added services to the banked sector, including corporate, small and medium sized enterprises, SMEs and individual users.

According to him, reliable sources estimate that as many as two thirds of mobile phone users in Nigeria do not currently access formal financial services, with majority of them living in rural communities and fringe urban areas.

He said, "For MTN, Mobile Money represents another opportunity to bring additional added value services to our over 40 million and growing subscriber base.

"The use of mobile money products will not only improve the quality of people's lives, but will also encourage banking as opposed to storing one's earnings in cash.

"Nigeria will also benefit, as the impact of Mobile Money will flow into the other segments of the society and have a multiplier effect o n the economy."

He maintained that MTN is excited to be at the forefront of providing Nigerians with innovative products and services, adding that it will continually harness cutting edge technology solutions to deliver a variety of solutions that affect the lifestyle of Nigerians.

What do you think?

 4 Ikosi Road

 Ikosi-Ketu

 Lagos-Nigeria

234 805 783 8282
 234 806 361 2572
234 809 514 5111

234 807 070 8795

234 805 844 9177