The inability of banks and telecom operators to agree on modalities for mobile money operations is hindering the potential of such transactions in Nigeria, compared to the acclaimed success of M-pesa in Kenya.
Mobile money transactions need legislations and approvals from both the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which regulates the banking sector and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) that oversees telecom services in the country. Giving an insight into the success of M-Pesa in Kenya at the Commonwealth Broadband Forum 2015 in Abuja, Mr. Joseph Tiampati Musuni, Principal Secretary, Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology, Kenya, said their country experienced a similar Banks-Telcos disagreement at the outset of mobile money services in Kenya. But he added that the government was able to facilitate an amicable and working arrangement between them to pave way for roll-out of the service.