Denis Opudo
Economic transformation requires the use of the mobile payment platforms and digital currency. During his East Africa’s exploration, Mr. Laurence Cooke, the nanopay CEO, derived key insights about Africa’s banking system. Most of the people in Sub Saharan Africa live in the rural areas. Yet, the majority of banks are in urban places leaving many individuals unbanked. This explains why over the years, the continent is cash-based. Entrepreneurs in the region currently shift from cash to mobile payment platforms.
Unfortunately, the continent’s mobile money providers are foreign companies. The platform users are thus charged exorbitant operation costs about 10% transaction fee. Therefore, the least cash-out fee results from withholding money until large payments build up. It is uneconomical to make transactions below ten dollars due to high transaction charges incurred. Another challenge was the closed-loop systems that need users to swap SIM cards in mobile devices. This scenario occurred when people expected to receive money from many payment platforms.
The other problem is lack of regulation in mobile money payment platforms. Subscribers complain about insecurity, poor identification, and inadequate privacy. He said that even though it seemed the best, it was not the best option. Limited government revenue since payments took place outside the government vicinity.
He recommended the establishment of government money payment platforms. This will aid to earn revenue and provide low-cost financial services. Finally, he emphasized the need to integrate multiple platforms with offline payment platforms.
