Making Mobile Payment Work in Nigeria

Mobile phones are being used in a range of innovative ways.
As a matter of fact, mobile phones have transformed lives in Nigeria and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is hoping that using mobile phones to send and receive money (mobile money) could have just as big an impact.
The thinking is that ready access to financial services can be critical in stimulating local economic activity and in fighting poverty.
Today in Nigeria, some people do not have bank accounts, nor do they have access to conventional banking services.
Hoping to replicate the success of mobile telephony in addressing these challenges, Nigeria is about to launch mobile payment services.
Mobile payment industry will change the way consumers interact with financial services and make payments.
Mobile financial services will include consumer accounts information, updates, alerts, bill payments, person to person transactions and remittances.
But for the initiative to work, there are needs for proper understanding of the risk involved in providing financial services through the mobile phone to banked and unbanked populations using the agent networks.
Emmanuel Okoegwale, a mobile money expert said that the outcomes of not putting mitigants in place might be severe and will determine the success of the outcomes.
The numerous risks like systemic, reputation, liquidity, legal and operational need to be mitigated to ensure that consumers are protected.
Mitigation will include translation of the mobile payment codes in into different local languages.
There is also need to have in place from day one, mandatory pricing disclosures strictly managed at agent locations.
The regulator should update agent list on a periodic basis and make such information available to the public.