If MTN/GLO/AIRTEL Wants to do Mobile Money, Let Them Get a Bank Licence

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http://thenationonlineng.net/new/business/money/telcos-need-licence-for-mobile-money-banking-says-gtbank-boss/

On mobile banking, Agbaje spared some kind words for the telecom operators who are clamouring to be co-players with the banks in the delivery of the service, He said as a money instrument, a banking licence would be required.

His argument: The mobile money banking network is a banking instrument. So if the telcos want to do mobile money, they have to go get a banking licence because you have to regulate the deposits and protect the depositors and the public. So its really not about the banks or the telcos. It’s about the process. If you want to run a banking product which has KYC (Know Your Customer) and has inherent risks, then to do that, you have to get a banking licence,” the GTBank boss, stressed.

He denied claims that the bank has restricted its partnership with the telcos to about one, or two operators. “We are partnering with all the telcos in our mobile money banking business,” he said, adding that “the platform we have built today is the one that allows us to partner with everybody, so we’re not restricting ourselves.”

He said in the few months that GTBank started the service, it has registered thousands of subscribers. He said: “We are already approaching about 100,000 active users, and we’ve only been at it for two months, and we are not despondent,” he said.