Mr Dipo Fatokun, the Director of Banking and Payment System
in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says about N815.47 billion has been
transferred though the Nigerian mobile money system since it's inception. He
said that the figure was as at Sept. 30 2015.
Fatokun disclosed this in Ilorin on Monday at the NDIC
workshop for business editors and finance correspondents with the theme :
"Developments in E-banking, Mobile Payments and Deposit Insurance
Corporation in Nigeria".
Fatokun, who was represented by Mr Sola Agboola, an
Assistant Director of the department, said that the monies were transferred in
76.95 billion transactions by 24.4 billion subscribers.
He said that the platform had created employment
opportunities through the 98,158 agents in the scheme.
The CBN director said that there were still untapped
opportunities under the system, stressing that the CBN and other stakeholders
were putting in efforts to fill the identified gap.
According to him, there are some challenges for the Micro,
Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSME) in the process of job creation through
mobile payments system.
Fatokun, however, said that the apex financial institution
in collaboration with various stakeholders is making frantic efforts to
surmount the challenges.
He listed the challenges to include epileptic power supply,
poor telecommunications connectivity and lack of synergy between mobile money
operators and telecommunication companies.
Fatokun said that there was the need to enhance customers'
awareness of the scheme, particularly at the grassroots.
He said that 21 Mobile Money Operators had been licensed and
carrying out commercial operations, although eight were actually running the pilot
stage.
Fatokun also said that mobile money scheme was to leverage
on the existing business network infrastructure as strategy for driving financial
inclusion of the unbanked.
According to him, the primary objective of mobile payment is
to foster financial inclusion, deliver on employment, transaction cost
reduction and facilitate economic growth in the medium to long-term.
Credit: NAN
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