The Sunday Mail
Munyaradzi Mlambo
THE second edition of the annual Mobile Money Conference and Awards is set to be held in Harare on July 28.Themed “Enhancing Risk in Mobile Money Management and Branchless Banking Ecosystem, the conference — which brings together regulators, telecommunication companies, and ICT service providers — will focus on opportunities, challenges and threats in the sector. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and banks are pushing for increased use of electronic payment systems.
Discussions will centre on progress made to make local systems interoperable, the role of near field communication to champion new innovation, the value of agent banking and mobile money in enhancing financial inclusion, and role of mobile money and digital payments in solving the ongoing cash crunch.
The reluctance of mobile companies to open their systems to competitors has been making it difficult to seamlessly transfer mobile money from account to account (A2A).
According to the GSMA, an association that represents the interests of more than 800 mobile operators across the globe, most countries are still struggling to implement full A2A, with a networks in a few countries such as Tanzania, Pakistan and Indonesia being interoperable.
There is growing concern that mobile money might be used for laundering and sponsoring terrorism, and regulators and industry will seek to address this.
The contentious issue of infrastructure sharing will also be under scrutiny.
Some of the panellists expected for the conference include Mr George Guvamatanga, the MD of Barclays Bank Zimbabwe; Mrs Hilda Mutseyikwa, a director at Potraz; Mr Brian Mutandiro, NetOne’s MD; Mr Lance Mambondiani, the CEO of Steward Bank; and the ICT, Postal and Courier Services Minister Supa Mandiwanzira. Minister Mandiwanzira said last week the widespread use of plastic money platforms had potential to fully address cash shortages affecting the economy. “I can tell you that (the conference theme) a very relevant topic given the cash shortage in the economy which can be dealt with overnight by an acceptance and widespread use of mobile money, digital payments or plastic money . . .
“I’m glad to say that those discussions, which were under the banner of regulator, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority — have led to an infrastructure sharing framework. The framework has fed into regulations that are now before the Attorney General for his consideration and gazetting,” he said.
The integration of mobile money and banking will likely create a strong and efficient financial services system.
Conference organisers Oxlink Capital said the convergence and interdependence of banking and telecoms makes it imperative to have a platform to share ideas, experiences and motivation.
The advent of mobile money has heralded a new era for financial services.
The launch of M-PESA in 2007 in East as well as the roll out of EcoCash, One Wallet, TeleCash in Zimbabwe has made transactions simpler. In 2015, 88 percent of national payment transaction volumes were done through mobile money platforms.
