The Central Bank of Nigeria has released a framework and guidelines for mobile money services in the country.
In a document released on Friday titled “Regulatory Framework for Mobile Money Services in Nigeria,” the apex bank pointed out that, “A robust payments system is vital for effective monetary policy implementation and the promotion of economic efficiency.”
The CBN, explained that, “The introduction of mobile telephony in Nigeria, its rapid growth and adoption and the identification of person to person payments as a practical strategy for financial inclusion, has made it imperative to adopt the mobile channel as a means of driving financial inclusion of the unbanked.
These factors underscore the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria to issue this regulatory framework to create an enabling environment for the orderly introduction and management of mobile money services in Nigeria.”
The apex bank, expressed optimism that the framework apart from defining the regulatory environment, should also provide a policy path towards achieving availability, acceptance and usage of mobile payment services.
The CBN said, “This regulatory framework addresses business rules governing the operation of mobile money services, and specifies basic functionalities expected of any mobile money service and solution in Nigeria.
It identifies the participants and defines their expected roles and responsibilities in providing mobile money services in the system. In addition, it sets the basis for the regulation of services offered at different levels and by the participants.”
The CBN wants to use the framework to set globally acceptable standards in mobile money services, as the financial world has long embraced mobile money both for the banked and unbanked.
“The overriding vision of achieving a nationally utilized and internationally recognized payments system necessitates strategies to bring informal payment transactions into the formal system,” the document added.
The document said that the CBN “recognizes the importance of Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in the operations of mobile money services and appreciates the criticality of the infrastructure they provide.
However, the telco-led model (where the lead initiator is an MNO), shall not be operational in Nigeria.”
The framework would be focusing on two models for the implementation of mobile money services, comprising bank led and non-bank led.
Consequently, the non-bank led, would be driven by corporate organisations duly licensed by the CBN, as lead initiator, while the bank led would be by duly licensed banks and/or its consortium, as lead initiator.
The Point gathered that with the document, the CNB was moving to properly regulator mobile money services because, “mobile payment has evolved as a veritable channel for facilitating the growth of commerce,” the CBN said.
The apex bank, also explained that, “The use of the mobile phone for the initiation, authorization and confirmation of the transfer of value out of a current, savings or stored value account has been recognized as a development that is expanding the growth of commerce among both the financially included and non-included units in the economy.”
