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Tapping into employment opportunities in mobile money industry

MARCH 19, 2012 BY DAYO OKETOLA LEAVE A COMMENT

Inadequate agent locations is one of the challenges facing the Nigerian emerging mobile money market, but as efforts are being made to address the problem, experts encourage Nigerians not to lose sight of the job opportunities available in the system, writes DAYO OKETOLA

According to the World Bank, over 40 million Nigerian youths are currently unemployed, lacking the wherewithal to keep body and soul together. While efforts are being put in place to reduce the country’s ever-widening unemployment gap, experts say the country’s fledgling mobile money system is capable of generating well over 250,000 jobs in the next three years.

Mobile money, which involves sending and receiving money via the mobile phones, is an aspect of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s cash-less policy aimed at transforming the Nigerian economy from cash-based to cash-less.

Apart from the availability of multiple payment channels such as the Automated Teller Machines, Point of Sale, and the web, mobile money is also expected to play a significant role in the entire cash-less initiative thereby reducing the huge cost spent on cash handling by the CBN annually.

Another key motive behind the cash-less policy is to provide financial inclusion to over 80 million Nigerians who have never been banked. Statistics from Enhnacing Financial Innovation & Access survey reveal that 63.5 per cent of adult males as well as 76.8 per cent of adult females in Nigeria are unbanked. Similarly, a significant 78.8 per cent of the rural population in the  country is unbanked. Generally, about 74 per cent of the country’s population has never been banked.

CBN reviews cashless policy, raises withdrawals/lodgments limits, extend pilot programme in Lagos to December, national roll-out defers to January 2013

By Ebenezer Ademola

March 19, 2012 16:09:21pm GMT

CBN building

WorldStage Newsonline-- The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday reviewed the ongoing Cash-less Policy in Lagos State by raising the daily cumulative withdrawals/lodgments limits of N150,000 and N1 million to N500,000 and N3 million on free withdrawals and lodgments by individual and corporate customers respectively

According to a statement by Mohammed Abdullahi, Head, Corporate Communications, CBN, having monitored the partial implementation of the Cash-less Policy in Lagos State and following discussions with various stakeholders on the effective implementation of the project, the apex bank had decided to reassess the policy to allow for smooth transition and adoption in Lagos State in the first instance, and the entire country at a later date.

Consequently, the CBN as a responsive institution has reviewed the policy as follows: Daily Cumulative Cash Withdrawals/Lodgments Limits: The daily cumulative limits of N150,000 and N1 million have been reviewed upwards to N500,000 and N3 million on free withdrawals and lodgments by individual and corporate customers respectively.

Cash-lite Lagos: Banks court churches with e-payment options

LAGOS – Banks in the country have commenced an aggressive marketing of their electronic payment services to religious houses, particularly churches, ahead of the March 31 deadline for the take-off of the cash-lite policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, in Lagos.

Vanguard gathered that some of the banks have started making presentations to management and leaders of some churches on the use of non-cash instruments by their members to make payment for tithes and offerings.

The banks said the marketing campaign became necessary due to the fact that the policy allows no preferences for religious organisation, adding that any church or religious organisation that fails to adhere to the rules will be sanctioned accordingly.

Aero Introduces A New Payment Option For Customers

Thursday, March 15th, 2012

As part of her continuous improvement on customer-focused services, Aero, West Africa’s oldest aviation company has introduced an entirely new, fast and convenient mobile money payment on the platform of U-MO.
This is the first of its kind in the Nigerian aviation industry as Aero ticket can now be paid for from an electronic wallet on the mobile phone. This is a product that enables customers to pay for their flight tickets using their mobile phones. The introduction of the mobile money platform is in addition to other booking and payment options provided by Aero for the customers’ convenience.
Mobile money is a virtual account that can be accessed through the mobile phone to make payments and transfers.
No doubt, the airline has defined air travel in a way that was originally thought to be unachievable.
The new service is the first of its kind in the industry in the West African region.  It is further proof of Aero’s desire to empower more people to fly more often by offering great value fares. The airline believes air travel should be affordable and accessible to all and they are doing just that by introducing this payment platform.

Convergence and the future of banking

By Segun Oruame 08/03/2012 00:00:00

MTN and Western Union not too long ago, formed an alliance bound to, and perhaps, ignite the biggest international mobile remittance services or mobile money transfer on the continent. The alliance is as significant for the financial/banking industry as it is for the telecoms sector in what would strengthen the argument for convergence and the erasing of traditional technology with regulatory boundaries.
The alliance also widens the vista for knowledge on the implication of the rise and rise of mega-Telcos. MTN with its home office or headquarters in South Africa is a Middle East and African operator making it a mega Telco with subscribers in about 21 countries. This is significant if you begin to see subscribers of mega-Telcos as citizens of the new universal or globalised countries.  Virtually all the networks in the big league of Nigeria’s mobile phone market including Airtel, Etisalat, Globacom and MTN have a combined subscribers’ base in excess of 90 million. Apart from Globacom which presence is still chiefly African; all the other three have operations within and outside the continent.