Mobile money services were first introduced in March 2009. From then it took off at great speed. It is 10 years since mobile money was introduced into Uganda. It was easy to borrow a leaf from neighbouring Kenya that had advanced in mobile money services.
The growth in mobile money services has been phenomenal. It has deepened financial inclusion, incurring lower transaction costs, improving rural access to financial services and integrating greater customer convenience.
According to Bank of Uganda (BOU), the mobile money balance on customer accounts increased from sh418.9b in September 2017 to sh495.9 in June 2018.
The number of mobile money subscription by September 2017 was recorded at 23,726,352 while in June 2018 it was recorded at 22,733,823. The apparent decline in numbers followed deactivation of some unregistered numbers from the network.
The value of mobile money transactions shows a growth from sh16.7 trillion in September 2017 to sh19.3 trillion in June 2018.
Schemes in Uganda
Mobile money services were first introduced in March 2009. From then it took off at great speed.
Currently there are seven mobile money schemes in Uganda. These include MTN, Airtel, Uganda Telecom, Africell, M-cash, PayWay and Eeezy Money. Mobile money services are regulated through a shared responsibility that is governed by Bank of Uganda and Uganda Communication Commission (UCC).
Regulation
Godfrey Mutabazi, the UCC Executive Director, recently asked telecommunication operators to improve transparency of mobile money platforms that generate the statements to refl ect transaction details like date, time, and location and also ensure that their systems cannot be easily manipulated by their staff. The Central Bank has the sole responsibility of regulating fi nancial services but fi nancial services offered by telecoms have remained largely unregulated given that they are offered by non-financial institutions.
A Uganda Finscope survey for 2018 indicates a sharp increase in the number of Ugandans who use financial services. The total value of mobile money transactions grew from $9.7b (sh36b) in June 2016 to $16.3b (sh60b) in June 2017, according to Bank of Uganda.
MTN and Airtel have become the main players in the mobile money sector. The main regulatory concern for the Bank of Uganda (BOU) has been to ensure the safety of customers’ electronic value which they purchase, with cash, from mobile money agents. BOU hasbeen approving mobile money operations when this is done in partnership with a Supervised Financial Institution (SFI). Mobile Money Service Providers (MMSPs) are required […]
