TAR: Why is MTN involved in the
mobile money sector?
ALAIN NONO:MTN’S global
strategy is to expand financial
services,andthisincludesmoney
transfers. We started diversifying
several years ago to create new
revenue streams, as the tendency
with 4G is for voice revenue to
drop,especiallywiththearrivalof
over-the-topservices.Soforsever-
alyearsMTNhasbeenlookingfor
newrevenuestreams,especiallyin
terms of digital services.
We started in mobile money in
2010 and it started off very slowly
asitwassomethingnewforus.We
havebeensharingourexperience
with other operations, and things
havereallybeenpickingupoverthe
pasttwoyears.Itisnotsomething
we did on our own but within the
regulatoryframework.Regulations
are tight in Cameroon and within
theCommunauté Economique et
Monétaire de l’Afrique Centrale.
Thegoalistobringmoneyfrom
theinformalsectorintotheformal
sector. The goal is not to compete
with the banks, as the banks are
our partners. We are doing what
the banks have not yet done,
which is to turn to informal or
unbanked customers.What part of your business does
mobile money represent?
I am not going to give you spe-
cific statistics because of confi-
dentiality. What I can say is that
there has been significant growth
in revenue tied to mobile money
over the past year [...]. We have
more than 12,000 mobile-money
agentswhohaveanactiveaccount
[...]. We have 10 million clients
and today they have 3.6 million
mobile-money wallets. What I
can say is that we estimate that,
[measured] over a three-month
period, we are on equal footing
with our principal competitor in
the market [Orange Cameroon].There have been some recent
polemics about the management
of the sector, and the telecom-
munications ministry said it is
going to look at mobile-moneyregulations again. Do you expect
any changes?
I think journalists are the ones
launching the polemics to sell
papers. [...] The regulations are
firm and clear and spell out what
transactions are allowed. The
client can make deposits, with-
drawals, payments and transfers
from one client to another. And
all of those transactions are done
under the supervision of the
mobile firm’s banking partner.
At this level, there are absolutelyno regulatory problems. So when
we see in the papers or hear in
the streets that we are doing an
unregulated activity, it is not true.Orange Cameroon has intro-
duced a Visa card for its mobile-
money clients. Are you thinking
of similar innovations?
With a local bank we are intro-
ducing a solution that allows for
withdrawals without a card. You
cangotoanycashpointandwith-
draw money by validating it with
your mobile phone. Today we are
usingmobilephonestomakesome
paymentsatpetrolstationsandwe
are doing something similar as a
pilotforsomeshops.Wewouldlike
toembrace the broaderspectrum
of financial services [...]. In terms
ofusage,toppingupyouraccount
is one of the principal uses of the
mobile wallet in Cameroon. That
is followed in terms of popularity
bymoneytransfersandpayments
for goods and services.In more developed mobile-
money markets, accounts are
being used to build up credit pro-
files and offer services like loans.
Is that possible in Cameroon?
We can’t exclude investigat-
ing such services in the future.
Some of our operations provide
such services [...] but always in
partnershipwithfinancialinstitu-
tions. In East or West Africa, reg-
ulations are less restrictive, and
mobile operators are allowed to
emitmobilemoneythemselves.
Interview byReinnier Kazéin
Douala andMarshall Van ValenThe goal is not
to compete with
the banks
In Central Africa, unlike East
or West, telcoms can only offer
mobile money in partnerships
with banks. Within this framework
MTN is focused on reaching
out to the informal sectorAlain Nono
General manager, mobile financial
services, MTN Cameroon“We are doing what the banks
have not yet done, which is to
turn to unbanked customers”ALL RIGHTS RESERVED50 COUNTRYFOCUS| CAMEROON