24 vritti September 2017
Changing Lives
A prime reason for this is lack of clear regulations for banking agents . Further clarification in this aspect could help banks to trial and deploy large scale agent networks .
Banks who are planning to launch full-fledged mobile money services should focus on embracing agent banking and creating an expansive agent network to strengthen their last-mile services ( customer registration , cash-in and cash-out ) and reach more consumers . BCEAO prohibits agent exclusivity ; hence all independent agents can work for multiple service providers . Hence , banks can leverage existing agents
of other mobile money providers to offer services .
Banks who want to create strong mobile money services that can compete with MNO ' s services have to invest in robust mobile financial services platforms . The new-age mobile financial services platforms facilitates open APIs that enables mobile money providers to quickly integrate with billers , merchants , money transfer operators , card schemes and government platforms creating an expansive financial eco system . Moreover , the mobile financial services platforms are future proof and will allow quick adoption of new technologies like NFC and QR Codes .
The way forward
BCEAO has set a target of 75 percent of adults to be formally included in the financial sector . To achieve this objective , banks and MNOs have to work together to accelerate the growth of financial inclusion . To take mobile financial servthe second-generation service such as savings , loans and insurance . MNOs need to partner with banks and MFIs to launch these services . MNOs and banks would mutually benefit from the second-generation services . MNOs will be able to add more customers and retain money in digital format , whereas banks would get a launch pad to extend their products to unbanked consumers at lowcost . Kenya is a befitting example , where M- Pesa and Commercial Bank of Africa ( CBA ) partnered to offer M-Shwari savings and loan service . At end of June 2016 , M-Shwari had 15 million accounts and disbursed loans valuing US $ 1.3 billion . The non-performing loan ratio of M-Shwari was 1.92 %, significantly lower than Kenya ' s average of 5.3 %. The nonperforming loan ratio in WAEMU is relatively high at 15.6 %. Hence , mobile-based microloans can be leveraged to bring down nonperforming loan in WAEMU countries .