On Monday, January 16th, 2023, the National team of the Association of Mobile Money and Agent Banking Operators of Nigeria (AMMBAN) paid a courtesy visit to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to discuss concerns related to the mobile money and agency banking sector. The visit was in response to a letter sent by AMMBAN to the CBN Governor, and the team was received by the Director of Payment System, Mr. Musa Jimoh.
During the meeting, Mr. Jimoh expressed the CBN’s delight in having the opportunity to receive feedback from AMMBAN and to gain insight into the concerns of mobile money and agency banking operators at the “last mile.” He also acknowledged that the CBN is currently working to review the policy framework that guides the sector.
The National President of AMMBAN, Victor Olojo , led the team which included Alhaji Kamal Gaya , the Vice President 1, Oluwasegun Elegbede, National Public Relations Officer (PRO), Modupe Jile, Chairperson of the Abuja Chapter, and Sharafadeen Fasasi, the National leader. During the meeting, the team presented their concerns and recommendations related to the mobile money and agency banking sector to the CBN representatives.
The National President appreciated the CBN for its efforts in promoting financial inclusion and reducing financial exclusion in the country. He also briefed the CBN team on areas of concern for AMMBAN, which included
*Cash withdrawal limits for agency banking, categorization of agents’ accounts,
*Involving agents in the introduction and distribution of newly redesigned naira notes,
*Adoption of the “agent-to-user” approach for the Enaira, and
*Standardization of agent locations to weed out agents with criminal tendencies.
Sarafadeen Fasasi, a national Leader of AMMBAN in his own contribution emphasized the fact that the CBN, having established strong relationship with Super Agents on the business side of the sector should equally activate relationship on the advocacy leg by working more with AMMBAN.
During the meeting, a member on the CBN team, Mr. Taiwo Oladimeji, Deputy Director, Payment System, acknowledged ongoing efforts to address some of the anomalies in the sector and expressed concern that the core responsibilities of agency banking, such as account opening, have been overlooked in favor of POS operations. He also noted that options are being considered to ensure compliance in agents’ training and retraining by operators.
In response, Mr. Musa Jimoh affirmed the CBN’s readiness to involve AMMBAN in current and future engagements and asked that a document detailing all of AMMBAN’s recommendations be submitted for consideration and further engagement with other relevant stakeholder.
Oluwasegun Elegbede
National PRO
AMMBAN.
