MS Catherine Karimi Gichunge Founder, RED ANT INTERNATIONAL (RAI), has 8 years experience spanning Customer Care and Mobile Financial Services.   A Board Member of ACMFI (Africa Center for Mobile Financial Inclusion)

Turning Point

Coming from an African Unbanked village set up, Catherine is passionate about the potential of Mobile Money Transfer in transforming the lives of unbanked and Under-banked Africans.

Catherine was part of the Safaricom Limited team that piloted M-PESA product and continued to support the product through launch and post launch.

Under Catherine’s Supervision M-PESA Agents grew to over 11,000 in just two years winning her numerous awards from previous employer Safaricom including the Prestigious Employee of The Year

Tell us about what your current work.

At RED ANT INTERNATIONAL (RAI) we provide comprehensive Agency Recruitment and Management for existing MMT Agents in Kenya with a vision to providing the service across African Continent in a bid to bring the service closer to the customers.   RAI organizes Agency retreats and forums to ensure business growth, better relations with MNO’s and Customer outreach which completes the Vision Catherine has for Africa.  Under RAI’s umbrella, Agents, Mobile Network Operators and Banks have a helping hand and continuously aim for growth in Mobile Money Business for Africa.

What do you think is responsible for slow start up of mobile money in Nigeria?

As much as CBN regulation framework is focused on the future of mobile money and security of customer’s funds, it was ill advised on the true purpose of Mobile Money Transfer in an African country like Nigeria. CBN focused on protecting the banks from the Kenyan experience of M-PESA that left banks shocked and forgot about the poor unbanked.

As we speak if regulation had issued licences in the year 2009, millions of unbanked people in Nigeria could be enjoying financial inclusion. Talking to the numerous motorbike taxi riders in Lagos( Okada) makes me wonder if CBN is in touch with what the common person really wants.  This is what is responsible for slow start up of mobile money in Nigeria..Regulation not knowing the purpose of Mobile Money Transfer in bringing financial inclusion to the unbanked and under banked. Even when they issue the licenses to the Banks, i don’t see the same Okada rider wearing a suit and visiting a bank , he has no time he needs a corner shop that will quickly help him change his cash to e-value and to the safety of his sim card.

Do you think time has come for a collective regulatory body for mobile banking rather than having central banks for banks and communication regulator for Telco?

A mobile Banking Regulatory Body is what will bring financial inclusion to the unbanked and under banked in Nigeria.  CBN is a bank and it would be an uphill task trying to make a banker understand how to get to the unbanked. A neutral player for both Banks and Telcos would speed up the process of licencing and therefore bring the unbanked closer to financial inclusion.

A collective regulatory body for mobile banking would be neutral to any organisation that is willing to start up mobile banking whilst ensuring security of customer’s funds.  Central banks are more focused on funds and completely relegate the purpose of financial inclusion to the last item on their list.

Do you think there is need for insurance company to tap into mobile money opportunities?

Nobody can escape the wave of mobile money. Insurance companies have the option of setting up own money transfer services as they already have the outlet network and ground staff so it would be easy to move the service on the ground. Apart from running own money transfer services... they can also use the same money transfer service to collect the insurance premium payments from their customers without depending on bank transfers and standing orders. In Kenya M-PESA has enabled many companies to do customer to business transfers and a majority of these are insurance companies. I see so many businesses watching and waiting for Telcos and Banks to take lead when there is nothing that can stop them from developing own platforms for mobile money transfers and competing at the same level with Telcos and banks

What new innovations do you expect from mobile money transfer in the next five years?

Telco’s Intelligence Networks will be linked to the payments platforms to enable translation of airtime to e-value. The opposite of what is currently happening where customers can be able to buy airtime form stored e-value.

Visa could become the missing link in international mobile money transfer. Quick look at ATM withdrawal for M-PESA means that its possible for me to travel with my e- value from country to country and be able to withdraw it at any Visa Electron ATM. What needs to be synchronised is the technical bit.

 Banks should just come in as the financial custodian of the ecosystem. Banks are great with management of funds, Telcos are good with Customer acquisition and management.  If this is clear then you have success stories like M-PESA and WING Cambodia. M-PESA is Telco led but the bank plays a huge role in keeping cash in trust. Wing is Bank led with clearly drafted role and for both parties. Focus is in bringing financial inclusion to the unbanked.

With your experience with m-pesa and the success acclaimed, do you see other operators leapfrogging Safaricom of the number position?

 M-PESA is where it is because of wrong execution plans by other operators.  M-PESA has managed to keep the agents rallying behind them because no other operator is clever enough to change the commission structure and payment style for agents to compete with M-PESA. During the past MMT Agents Congress organised by RED ANT INTERNATIONAL, one agent told me, despite the problems I have with M-PESA, I will not open any other operators shops until they get organised and offer better customer care, and commissions. (The agent showed me 4 tills that he had acquired from another operator but was not using them) Is it too hard for other operators to learn?

M-PESA systems could go down for over 48 hours but customers still stay put because where they are only M-PESA agents are available.  Unless the other operators wake up and leave the air-conditioned boardrooms, and understand what customers and agents want, M-PESA will continue to humiliate them.