Leading telecommunications company, MTN Nigeria, in partnership with Guaranty Trust Bank (GT Bank) and Fortis Mobile Money has launched Nigeria’s mobile money service. The launch which took place on Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at the Civic Centre in Lagos, according to MTN, is a result of several months of hard work amongst the partners with the support and guidance of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Brett Goschen, said that the much awaited mobile money service will dramatically change the face of communications and financial services in Nigeria and provide a whole new and exciting experience to Nigerians. According to the MTN Nigeria Chief Executive, the launch of Mobile Money is one step further in MTN’s vision to not only be the leader in telecommunications or voice and data services but in all the ramifications of Information and Communications Technology services in Nigeria.
Continuing, he says the advent of smart phones which have driven mobile data usage in addition to convergence of banking, media, entertainment with telecoms also provides the company with ample opportunities to meet the needs of our customers in the short and longer term horizon. “We are confident that not only will Mobile Money take formal financial services or banking to the 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 scale enterprises (SMEs) and individual users,” said Goschen.
Mobile Money is a fast, safe, easy, convenient and affordable way to send and receive money across the country and pay for goods and services using MTN mobile line. Mobile Money is offered to the public by licensed financial services providers and partner banks: GT Bank and Fortis Microfinance bank, and is powered by MTN.
Also speaking at the launch, Chief Executive Officer, GT Bank, Mr. Segun Agbaje, said Mobile Money is a positive step to achieving financial inclusion in Nigeria. “This partnership will dominate the Mobile Money landscape. Therefore it is our collective responsibility to make sure Mobile Money succeeds in Nigeria. I cannot but thank the CBN for creating the conducive environment where Mobile Money can thrive,” Agbaje said.
In his own comments, Assistant Director, Payments System and Policy Oversight Banking, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Saka Adeyemo-Alakija, said Mobile Money falls under the spectrum of platforms via which the CBN will drive its policy promoting a cashless payment system in Nigeria. He congratulated MTN, GT Bank and Fortis on the launch.
As for the modalities of the Mobile Money operations, a spokesperson for the three organisations said that three categories of accounts are available in Mobile Money. The first is the unbanked which allows the customer a single maximum transaction limit of N3, 000 and daily limit of N30, 000. The second is the semi-banked which allows a single maximum transaction limit of N10, 000 and daily limit of N100, 000 and lastly, the fully-banked, which allows a single maximum transaction limit of N100, 000 and daily limit of N1, 000,000.{jcomments on}
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