There are 23 licensed mobile money operators in Nigeria, and they have recorded a total of seven hundred billion naira in transactions since 2012. This was announced yesterday at a presentation on Mobile Money and Emerging Payment System for lawyers by Nigeria’s apex bank, CBN, in Abuja.
The speaker was the Deputy Director of Banking and Payment Systems Department at CBN, Mr. Jimoh Itopa. His immediate boss, Mr. Dipo Fatokun added, “apart from the 23 mobile money operators, there are about 80,000 mobile agents spread across the federation that have been given approval to carry out mobile money transactions.
“We have licensed 23 mobile money banking operators and on a monthly basis, these operators conduct a total transaction of about N30 million monthly. In addition, there are over 80,000 mobile agents where people can also go and conduct mobile money transactions.”
To ensure the safety and stability of the mobile money banking system, CBN will be collaborating with Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) to insure the deposited funds because NDIC deposit policy doesn’t cover these kinds of deposits. The collaboration between the two institutions will ensure that even though deposits from various subscribers are made into one account, each depositor will be given due recognition and will be compensated in the event that the bank fails and has to be liquidated. The idea is to boost subscriber’s confidence in the mobile money payment systems.
The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, added that the workshop was strategic in training lawyers in order to help the banks strengthen their mobile money banking systems.
He concluded that CBN will review the regulatory frameworks and guidelines for mobile money services in Nigeria for effective licensing of mobile money transaction. The main objective of the review is to provide an enabling environment for the adoption of mobile payment services.
