Cameroon: Atanga Nji gives 45 days to Mtn Mobile Money and Orange Money to identify all mobile money transfer subscribers


In Cameroon, mobile operators MTN and Orange offer mobile payment and mobile money transfer services. Mtn Mobile Money and Orange Money are the names of the services offered. Moreover, "a certain interoperability" mobile money exists between the two operators, as a subscriber of the Orange Money service can make a mobile money transfer to a Mtn subscriber. And vice versa. The money is withdrawn at an operator's branch office upon presentation of the generated code received from the sender by SMS. 

For the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, this type of mobile money transfer is problematic. Because the recipient of the mobile money transfer is not clearly identified. On the other hand, with mobile money transfer between Orange Money subscribers, the recipient of the transfer is identified, because a message confirming the transfer with the sender's name is offered to the sender. Same for Mtn Mobile Money. Another concern, if the recipient of the mobile money transfer has not subscribed to a mobile money service, only his number (instead of his full identification) is proposed to the sender for confirmation.

Minister Paul Atanga Nji wants this to change. And that all users of mobile money services be clearly identified

Reason for this demand according to the minister, nearly 540 million FCFA of ransom money have been collected by secessionist terrorists during the last four months in the North-West and South-West regions. And these secessionists are not clearly identifiable. 340 complaints have been registered in the city of Bamenda, according to the Minat.

Minister Paul Atanga Nji has therefore summoned the heads of Orange Money and Mtn Mobile Money to give them 45 days to clearly identify all the actors involved in the mobile money transfer chain. Also, they are obliged to give the possibility to mobile money senders to delete a mobile money transfer and recover the money sent.

Source: digitalbusiness.africa