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Amaka Eze
 
Mobile money providers licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have been urged to re-strategise  so as to increase patronage.
The call was made at  a mobile money round table   with a theme 'Mobile Technology and the Future of Cashless Initiative,’ held in Lagos recently.

The Head of Payments and Mobility, Accenture Nigeria,   Mrs. Henrietta Bankole-Olusina, stated that mobile money operators and their regulators need to show more commitment in order to further achieve investment and drive the industry.
“One year after the providers gained the licence, the mobile money sector is yet to understand the factors of the mobile money policy, and play on it with a view to win investments as well as users,” she said.

Bankole-Olusina stated that investment in mobile payment infrastructure would come when business people see a business opportunity in that industry.

She said, “Capital would always go to where there is an opportunity.Mobile money subscribers far outnumber Personal Computer users in Nigeria and that is a great opportunity the providers have failed to utilized.”

Decrying the present approach of the operators, she stated that if they continued to  target only the banked, then the unbanked that are the main target of the initiative would  not be captured.

“I personally have not seen the real need to use the platform. The providers have not shown me that I need mobile money payment to survive. I hardly go to the bank. I pay my bills and do all transactions online sitting right in my office. I would need them to show me why I should change that way of life and turn on to mobile payment. We need the right business models and the right business products” she said.

She further explained that investment would come when the business models are strategically planned, and customer value proposition is given priority.

“We are at the stage where people have invested and they need returns before they can invest further in technology in mobile payment. We can't keep throwing money at a problem, without creating strategic solutions to go with it. What would drive investment in this field for investors? Providers have to get themselves together, focus in very clear customer value proposition. Customer experience is key. The onus is on service providers to deliver,” she said.