Mobile money deals hit N5.1trn

[Edoman]

Mobile money deals hit N5.1trn

March 3, 2020  Samson Akintaro




GROWTH

More Nigerians embrace e-payment channels for transactions
 

The value of mobile money transactions in the country rose to N5.1 trillion in 2019, New Telegraph has learnt.
 
 
This came as the highest annual value recorded by the e-payment system, which has witnessed slow growth in the country over the years.
 

 
Compared with the value of deals in 2018, which stood at N1.8 trillion, the 2019 figure represents 183 per cent growth. This indicated that the e-payment channel is beginning to gain traction among Nigerians.
 
Data released by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) showed that the volume of mobile money deals also increased significantly from 87.1 million in 2018 to 377.3 million in 2019.
 
 

Similarly, the number of enrolled mobile money agents in the country also grew from 38,416 in 2018 to 266,039 in 2019, while the number of customers using the platform increased from 8.5 million in the previous year to 15.3 million in 2019.
 
Some industry analysts attributed the growth recorded last year to the entrance of the largest telecommunications operator, MTN Nigeria, into the ecosystem.
 
 

MTN was last year granted a licence through its subsidiary, Y’ello Digital Financial Services, to offer financial services over mobile.
 
 
However, the number of licensed mobile money operators (MMOs) in the country only increased by one in the year.
 
According to NIBSS data, there were 22 MMOs in the country as of the end of 2019, while there were 21 in 2018.
 
However, despite the growth, an industry analyst believes that the country may not deepen mobile money penetration except it builds a credible national identity database.
 

 
Executive Director, Financial Business at Inlaks, Mr. Olufemi Muraino, who stated this, noted that national identity plays significant roles in countries where the payment system has succeeded.
 
 
While many had blamed the slow growth of mobile money in the country on the bank-led approach as opposed to telcos-led, Muraino said some countries had also succeeded with the bank-led system as there is always synergy between banks and telecoms.
 
 

According to him, the lack of a national identity database is the main inhibiting growth of mobile money in the country.
 
 
“In Kenya, you can request a loan through your mobile phone, the operator look at your data through the national database and is able to ascertain whether you are creditworthy or not. The database also shows the record of anybody that has defaulted in loan payment before and such a person would be denied.
 
 
“You can request and get a loan under 10 minutes using your phone, that is one of the benefits of mobile money and this thrives on Kenya’s national identity database. In Nigeria, we have different biometric databases which include the banks’ Biometric Verification Number (BVN), the immigration database for passport owners, Federal Road Safety Corps database, etc. while the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) is also building a national database, all of which need to be harmonised,” he said. 
 

The Inlaks ED added that with a single national identity database, Nigerians would be able to transact any business on their phone as it would be easy to identify each person.
 
 
Meanwhile, in a recent report, the global body of mobile network operators, GSMA, listed Nigeria among three countries tagged as ‘Africa’s mobile money sleeping giant.’
 
 

According to the body, the country, alongside Egypt and Ethiopia, has huge potentials for mobile money growth but has not harnessed it.
 
GSMA, however, noted that with the use of agents, mobile money would sustain its growth trajectory across the countries.
 
“The agent distribution network, which has been vital to the growth of the mobile money industry over the last decade, shows no sign of diminishing. In 2018, the global number of registered mobile money agents grew 18 per cent to reach 6.6 million, 57 per cent of whom are active on a monthly basis. The role of the agent network is evolving to support adjacent service offerings.” it said.