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Mobile Money
Cash is King but M-PESA is not backing down
With the advent of cards, mobile bank services and contactless payments, many economies all over the world have moved to a cashless policy. However, in Kenya like many other countries, cash is king.
This is because excise duty on money transfers was increased to boost Kenyan’s revenue. Additionally, mobile transactions are seeing increased scrutiny from authorities like the Kenyan Revenue Authority (KRA). Traders have now resumed operating with cash fearing compulsion to pay higher charges.
Given that money transfers are the preferred payment method in Kenya, the high charges are causing a behavioural shift back to a cash-flow economy. This shift could be bad for businesses like Safaricom’s M-PESA and Airtel money.
Notably, the combined transaction value of Safaricom and Airtel Money from January to October 2024 closely matched the total value of POS and ATM withdrawal transactions, which amounted to $355.8 million during the same period.
M-PESA has been quite successful as it led its parent company to its first growth in three years. While it faces fierce competition from Airtel Money, M-PESA now has to also deal with behavioural shifts from users.
Read TechCabal’s article to see how M-PESA is faring during these times.
Read About Moniepoint’s Impact on Pharmacies
Do you remember what you bought the last time you visited a pharmacy? Data from Moniepoint’s pharmacy case study reveals it was likely a painkiller. Click here to discover how Moniepoint is enabling access to healthcare through payments and funding for community pharmacies.
Telco
MTN Group announces major leadership changes
It’s planning season and as you plan for the new year, MTN is too!
The telco took a beating in the first half of the year, reporting a loss after tax of ₦519 billion ($333 million) for the first half of 2024 due to FX volatility. The telco hopes to come back in the new year with new leadership changes.
Yesterday, it announced the departure of Frédéric Schepens, CEO of Bayobab, its infrastructure business, along with other departures.
Following over seven years of service at MTN, Schepens will be succeeded by Mazen Mroue, the company’s Chief Technology and Information Officer (CTIO). In this expanded role, Mroue will concurrently lead MTN Group’s infrastructure business alongside his CTIO responsibilities. Mroue will lead Bayobab’s fibre and mobility divisions while spearheading the company’s data centre strategy.
MTN also announced major leadership changes across its subsidiaries in Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire. Wanda Matandela, who currently serves as Chief Commercial Operations Officer at MTN South Africa, will become the new CEO of MTN Cameroon on March 1, 2025.
Mitwa Ng’ambi, the CEO of MTN Cameroon, will move to MTN Côte d’Ivoire on March 1, 2025. Ng’ambi, formerly the CEO of MTN Rwanda, will drive the next phase of growth in the country.
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Regulation
POS agents will raise withdrawal fees in response to CBN’s new rules
What happens when a business’ profits are under pressure by a government policy? The customers ultimately pay the price.
This best describes the reaction of POS operators to a new policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
In recent months, these operators have become a crucial source of cash as Nigeria grapples with a prolonged cash scarcity that has left people struggling to get cash at banks and ATMs. While POS agents are experiencing increased patronage, they are also facing scrutiny from regulators over concerns that their operations may be contributing to Nigeria’s continued reliance on cash.
On Tuesday, the CBN set a daily limit of ₦1.2 million ($771) per POS agent and capped withdrawals at ₦100,000 ($64) per customer. While the directive is aimed at regulating the agent banking business and curbing fraud, it comes with a darker side for POS operators who fear the new limits will significantly impact their earnings.
Limited cash disbursement means lower patronage for these businesses. To stay afloat, POS operators will pass on the cost to the customers by increasing their withdrawal fees.
One POS agent in Lagos told TechCabal that he would charge ₦6,000 ($4) or more for a withdrawal of ₦100,000, up from the previous ₦4,000 ($3) fee.
Beyond raising fees, other operators believe they can adapt and innovate around the new rules. One such way is by securing more terminals to spread the demand.
Ultimately this points to one thing: while POS operators remain a critical part of Nigeria’s financial inclusion drive, they won’t be spared from the regulator’s increased scrutiny.
Introducing Paystack transfers in Kenya 🇰🇪
Paystack merchants in Kenya can now send single and bulk transfers to any Kenyan bank or MPESA account (including customer wallets, Paybills, and Tills) Learn more →
Big Tech
Dutch data watchdog fines Netflix $4.98 million
While rumours of Netflix leaving Nigeria just subsided, the video streaming platform is now faced with a fine from the Dutch Government.
The Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) fined Netflix €4.75 million ($4.98 million) on December 18 for not adequately informing customers about its use of their data between 2018 and 2020.
“Customers did not receive sufficient information when they asked Netflix which data the company collects about them. These are violations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR),” the DPA said in a statement.
Netflix objected to the fine, noting it had since updated its privacy statement and enhanced its data transparency since the start of the investigation in 2019.
While the authorities acknowledged that Netflix had since updated its privacy statement, it noted that the investigation exposed notable shortcomings during the relevant time frame.
Further findings from the investigation which took place over five years showed that Netflix failed to clearly disclose which personal data were shared with third parties and why. The company failed to provide clear information on how it protects user data during international transfers outside the EU.
When customers requested details about their collected data, Netflix’s responses were often unclear and lacking in detail. The company also failed to provide clear guidance on its retention periods for user data.
“Since this investigation began over five years ago, we have cooperated with the Dutch Data Protection Authority and proactively evolved our privacy information to provide even greater clarity to our members. We have objected to this decision,” a Netflix spokesperson told Reuters.
CRYPTO TRACKER
The World Wide Web3
Source:
|
Coin Name |
Current Value |
Day |
Month |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bitcoin |
$101,335 |
– 2.62% |
+ 10.59% |
| Ether |
$3,672 |
– 4.72% |
+ 17.35% |
| XRP |
$2.36 |
– 6.13% |
+ 113.72% |
| Dogecoin |
$0.36 |
– 6.24% |
– 6.33% |
* Data as of 06:50 AM WAT, December 19, 2024.
Jobs
- PressOne Africa – Growth and Sales Operations Manager – Lagos, Nigeria
- Condia – Sales and Partnership Associate – Remote (Nigeria)
- Moniepoint – Growth Product Partner – Lagos, Nigeria
- 54 Collective (Radease) – Growth Manager – Hybrid (Lagos, Nigeria)
- Renmoney – Chief of Staff – Lagos, Nigeria
- Interswitch Group – Data Engineer, Mobile App Developer – Hybrid (Lagos, Nigeria)
- Fairmoney – Data Engineer – Remote (Lagos, Nigeria)
- Duplo – Senior Product Manager, SaaS, Risk & Compliance Manager – Hybrid (Lagos, Nigeria)
- Reliance Health – Content Strategist – Remote (Lagos, Nigeria)
- Darey.io – Quality Assurance Specialist – Lagos, Nigeria
There are more jobs on TechCabal’s job board. If you have job opportunities to share, please submit them at bit.ly/tcxjobs.
Written by: Towobola Bamgbose, Ganiu Oloruntade, and Faith Omoniyi
Edited by:Timi Odueso
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