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FG urged to formulate Nigerian mobile commerce strategy

By on April 6, 2011

Federal government should formulate a Nigerian Mobile Commerce Strategy (NMCS), in order to determine what the platform would be used for.

Over 120 identity management and electronic payment experts and stakeholders at the Ennovators Breakfast series organised by financialtechnology magazine with the theme “Harmonising SIM Registration Require-ment with M-Payment KYC for Secure Mobile Commerce in Nigeria” handed down this recommendation.

According to the experts, mobile payment, like other means of financial transactions, is vulnerable to criminal activities hence the need for adherence to Know Your Customer (KYC) criteria in mobile payment transactions.

However, this requires a standard and accep-table method of identi-fying users of mobile payment. In Nigeria, such standard identifi-cation is absent.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the event and signed by Editor-in-Chief of financialtechnology, the ongoing registration of SIM by the Nigeria Com-munication Commission (NCC), however, offers an opportunity to address this challenge.

However, can owner-ship of SIM be used and relied upon as identifica-tion of mobile payment users? If yes, how can this be achieved? If no, what are the alterna-tives? These are part of the focus of the first edition of the Ennovators Breakfast series.

Six eminent electronic payment experts including the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigeria Identity Management Commission presented position papers.
The speakers observed that mobile payment is vulnerable to criminal activities and hence there is need for adherence to KYC criteria to minimise the vulnerabilities.

While majority of speakers believed that the on-going SIM registration has KYC benefits for mobile payments, they, how-ever, expressed concern over the reliability given the problem of multiple SIM ownership by one subscriber, and absence of a means of verifying whatever identity claimed by SIM owners.

To overcome this challenge, some of the speakers proffered network based registra-tion of mobile payment users, biometric authen-tication and voice recognition as alterna-tives or complements to the on-going SIM registration.

Another critical issue identified as a challenge to the KYC requirement is illiteracy, which is prevalence among the unbanked who are supposed to be the major beneficiary of mobile payment.

KYC forms and processes need to be streamlined and made easy for this group of users.
Another major issue raised at the forum was the absence of a national mobile payment strategy, which should have addressed the challenge of identification for KYC in mobile money.

From the papers presented and recommendations made, one notable discovery is that the KYC benefits of SIM registration can be harnessed to curb criminal activities in mobile payment by integrating SIM card registration with mobile payment infrastructure such that it allows for an additional authentica-tion by mobile payment users which can be verified online by mobile payment agents.

Present at the forum include Director, Banking & Payments System Department, CBN, Mr. Abayomi Atoloye, who delivered the keynote address, Managing Director/CEO, Chams PLC, Mr. Demola Aladekomo, spoke on SIM Card Registration, National Resource for Identity Management, and Director General, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Dr. Chris Onyemenam, shared his thoughts on How to Build a Secure SIM Database for Payment KYC & Financial Identity.

Others are Managing Director, ExpertEdge – a CWG Software company, Mr. James Agada, delivered a position paper on Using SIM Registration as a Tool for Secure Payment Services, Nigeria Managing Director for Ingenico, Ms. Gansirey Seck spoke on M-Payment Identity Verification in the Absence of a Credible National Identity, Principal Consultant, Mobile Money Africa, Mr. Emmanuel Okoegwale, presented a paper on Identity Management for Effective Mobile Financial Services in Nigeria and Chief Executive Officer, Qrios Networks, Mr. Mosh Adetoro spoke on the theme of the forum Harmonising SIM Registration & M-Payment KYC, the USSD Challenge.

Those who delivered industry remarks are Chief Executive of Electronic Payment Providers Association of Nigeria (E-PPAN), Mrs. Onajite Regha, President, Association of Telecommunication Companies in Nigeria (ATCON), Engineer Titi Omo-Ettu and President, Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) Mr. Gbenga Adebayo among others

Source : Vanquard