MTN Ghana has reached a conclusive decision to extend the intended date on which Mobile Money users will be required to present a valid national ID for mobile money transactions.
The new deadline for implementation of the directive is April 1, 2020, an extension from the initial February 1 deadline, where users of MTN’s mobile money service would have to display a valid ID card on their visits to a mobile money agent to initiate a transaction.
With the directive, the valid identification cards sanctioned and suitable for transactions include the Ghana Card, Driving License, passport, voter’s ID, SSNIT ID, NHIS.
With this, an agent performing a cash-out for a subscriber is required to select the ID type and enter the ID number on the ID card the subscriber provides.
The General Manager of Mobile Money Limited, Eli Hene, speaking on the issue said the postponement of the implementation date will permit its mobile money agents to be given sufficient sensitization.
Additionally, he intimated that this will ensure the general public are more prepared in helping the telco giant to effectively deal with cases of mobile money fraud.
According to Mr. Hene, the action isn’t a new development as MTN centers require identification cards before they initiate transactions of users.
“That timeline will now be first of April for full implementation because we are trying to give adequate time to ensure customer education has gone to all the areas of the country.
“It’s not a new requirement it’s just that it has been very lax. Typically if you look on all our posters we have put it there clearly at the agent point that all transactions should come with IDs but over the period a lot of our agents have been lax that unless you go to our branches and our key stakeholder points that’s where they enforce it and what is coming out is that most customers would rather avoid those places and go to where IDs are not demanded, and we have realized that is also impacting on the fraud issues as well, and we needed to step it up.
“We are now doing it on a system level, so the system is now demanding the agent to make that as part of the transaction process to help us also deal with our fraud issues that have become very much of a challenge”.
MTN Ghana has remained one of the most dominant telecommunication companies in Ghana and their mobile money platform has unlocked access to financial services for millions of people leading to the consolidation of the payment system and the expanding of financial inclusion in the country.
MTN’s Mobile Money service is the most preferred option for most mobile money users but increasing cases of mobile money fraud on the network has forced the company to come up with stringent measures to fight the trend.
