Tariff, service failure top NCC, CBN consultation .

As Nigeria gradually moves towards the era of mobile payment systems, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has stepped up discussions with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to develop regulatory guidelines that would direct the emerging industry on technical specifications, quality of service (QoS) and the role of the ombudsman for transaction failure in the value chain, informed sources have disclosed.

As Nigeria gradually moves towards the era of mobile payment systems, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has stepped up discussions with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to develop regulatory guidelines that would direct the emerging industry on technical specifications, quality of service (QoS) and the role of the ombudsman for transaction failure in the value chain, informed sources have disclosed.

According to our sources, the NCC would also be looking to develop technical guidelines on the integrity of the SMS platform and align the tariff policy on mobile money transactions.

Analysts expect that these discussions between the NCC and CBN would lead to the development of certain Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to guarantee the transparency and security of transactions on the system. The CBN recently issued operating licences to 11 mobile firms to deploy mobile money services in the country. The firms issued licences include: Fortis Money, UBA/Afripay, GTBank Mobile Money, Pagatech, E-Tranzact, Monetise, Eartholeum, Paycom, FET, Ecobank and Kudi.

Femi Ayo-Yusuf, representative of the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) told Business Day recently that, “NCC should work with CBN to ensure that a comprehensive policy for mobile payments is developed, to ensure integrity of the system”.

He added that mobile money operators should not render services in areas of the country where telecom services were unreliable.  “Take for instance, what if my phone is stolen and the PIN number of my account is on the SMS used for a transaction. The telecoms regulator should mandate telecoms companies to encrypt SMS to guarantee security of data.”

An analyst who pleaded anonymity told Business Day that there are critical areas in the mobile payment ecosystem that might create a needless regulatory conflict between the NCC and CBN if their roles were not properly defined. According to him, “There are important questions that need to be addressed if we are to get it right from a regulatory perspective and avoid any conflict between both federal government agencies, in relation to the operation of mobile payment. Should NCC license mobile money scheme operators? Should NCC set tariff for mobile money SMS traffic? Should NCC restrain from regulating mobile money related communication? In case of loss of funds in the chain, who takes responsibility?

Lolia Emakpore, director of policy, competition and economic analysis (PCEA), NCC was quick to dispelled the suggestion that regulatory conflicts would arise between both government agencies.

According to her, both government agencies have clearly defined roles in the emerging mobile payment ecosystem. “The CBN is responsible for anything that has to do with financial services. On the other hand, the NCC will only come in when it relates to the network infrastructure or equipment on which the payment services will ride. We clearly understand our roles in the scheme and I do not foresee any regulatory conflicts in the future”, she said.

On-going collaboration work between the NCC and CBN on intervention requirements of mobile money transactions was highlighted last week, when the two federal agencies hosted stakeholders to a public forum in Lagos. The forum put forward a number of solutions on the dichotomy of banked and the un-banked consumers; issues of inter and intra competition between mobile money and network providers; security, cybercrime as well as interoperability. Industry watchers have commended the consultation process and said it would help the agencies canvass the different sectors of the market for quality intervention which will be the basis of policy formulation and legislation.