MTN should come again with another policy to regulate their Mobile Money services; since the recent policy, they have introduced promises to be problematic.
Two days ago, I went to a Mobile Money vendor to withdraw some money from my Mobile Money wallet only to be told that without a valid National Identification (ID) card, I cannot withdraw my money.
Indeed, it was quite an inconvenient experience for me, since, even though I had earlier heard of the announcement of a new policy to be introduced by MTN; which would require mobile money users to present a valid national ID card before they could withdraw their money, I had forgotten to carry my ID card with me.
An MTN Mobile Money Vendor.
In fact, after questioning some MTN Mobile Money operators about the rationale behind this initiative by MTN, I got to realize that it is a step in the right direction; since I was informed that it will help to reduce, Mobile Money fraudsters.
Illustration of how an identity fraudster works.
However, the policy promises to be problematic. This is because, it has the tendency to result in a situation where many individuals would misplace their ID cards; which can also be another substrate for identity fraudsters to grow upon.
Considering the aforesaid, although MTN’s latest policy is indeed fantastic, they should come again with another policy that would be more convenient and avoid situations where people would be misplacing their national ID cards.
