Stakeholders of the device code-named, ??Mobile Money?? met yesterday to brainstorm on how to take the project off the ground.A new money transfer system is underway in Cameroon like in other countries of the Central African Sub region (CEMAC). The product, dubbed, ??Mobile Money?? according to officials, enables subscribers to use their phones to transfer money to their family members and loved ones, pay bills and do transactions from one bank to another.
Stakeholders of the product met in Yaounde yesterday to share experiences and map out ways of taking the project off the ground. The meeting, GSMA-Mobile Money Regulatory Forum for Central African States?? brought together stakeholders from within and without the CEMAC zone. Speaking during the ceremony, Peter Nzebile, Director of MTN Mobile Money Project said the purpose of bringing in people from outside the central African sub region was for them to share their experiences with stakeholders in the CEMAC region. The system is reportedly operational in most countries but for the CEMAC zone.He said mobile network operators work with banks because the former has the sim cards while the latter keeps the accounts. ??We work with the banks, the money is deposited in the bank and it is then that we have a link with the virtual platform. We have merchants who work with us and the subscribers or customers work with the merchants??, Mr Nzebile said. The advantage, he added, is that it serves people who do not belong to banks. ??The population of Cameroon today is close to 20 billion and out of this we have only about 700 bank accounts. We have millions of subscribers, if we can turn these phone subscribers to Mobile Money account holders, then so many people will have access to financial services without necessarily being in a bank??. The mechanism, he said, can serve people right to the rural areas as what they need is just to have network. The project??s director stressed that they are ready to take off as soon as they get clearance from the Bank of Central African States, BEAC.Godlove BAINKONG, CT
