TECHDIGEST – Women are less likely than men to use mobile money services, GSMA has stated.

According to the global body of telecommunication firms, the reason for this includes not owning a mobile phone, not being aware of mobile money, not perceiving the relevance of mobile money, and having low literacy and digital and financial skills.

In its ‘The State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money (2023)’, it said, “The gender gap in mobile money account ownership and usage is a missed opportunity for both women and MMPs.

“Women who use mobile money can become more financially included, economically independent and play a stronger role as financial decision-makers. In turn, this can have a positive impact on their communities and the broader economy.”

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GSMA noted that data from its 2022 consumer survey showed that mobile money had a positive effect on women’s lives. It stated that across most of the nine countries surveyed, which included Nigeria, more than half of female mobile money users reported that mobile money helped them better manage their finances and everyday affairs, such as shopping and paying bills.

It highlighted that in the countries surveyed, most female users reported that mobile money helped them save time.

According to GSMA, 18 per cent of males with mobile phones owned mobile money accounts while only nine per cent of females with mobile phones owned mobile money accounts. The association explained, “In most countries, lower mobile ownership among women still contributes to the mobile money gender gap, including in more mature markets where mobile money awareness is near-universal.

“Mobile money awareness is much lower for women than men in some markets, such as Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, and Nigeria, and is an important barrier to be overcome. When women are aware of mobile money, barriers other than the lack of a mobile phone have created a relatively wide gender gap in mobile money account ownership (except in Kenya).”

GSMA noted that once women have a mobile money account, they have similar usage levels as men on a 30-day basis.

According to the association, the gender gap in mobile money account ownership widened in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Pakistan over the past year primarily due to mobile ownership among men growing at a faster pace than women.

GSMA stated that the gender gap in mobile money accounts was higher in rural areas.

It added, “The gender gap in mobile money account ownership tends to be higher among certain demographics.

“For instance, in eight of the nine countries surveyed, the gender gap in mobile money account ownership is greater among those living in rural areas. Men, and especially women, who live in rural areas tend to experience the barriers to mobile money account ownership more acutely than their urban counterparts, including lower awareness, lack of a mobile phone, lower digital skills, and more restrictive social norms.”

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TECHDIGEST – MTN, Africa’s largest telecommunications company, has been making headlines this year for all the right reasons.

Firstly, a rebranding as a tech firm, followed by the purchase of metaverse land and payment of 13.5 percent of the entire revenue collected by the Nigerian federal tax authority in 2021.

Yesterday, MTN Nigeria received final approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria to run a payment service bank.

MTN Nigeria can now provide almost all of the services that traditional commercial banks provide, with the exception of credit and foreign exchange transactions.

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For Nigerians, it means a new and less stressful method of payment that is not dependent on a data connection or a smartphone. While Nigeria already has a functional banking infrastructure that’s allows for quick interbank transfers, mobile money will go much further by eliminating walk-in services and even card transactions. Nigerians would be able to pay for everything from groceries at convenience stores to renewing DStv subscriptions using their MoMo wallets.

This statement comes after Airtel Africa Plc and MTN Nigeria Communications Plc were granted an approval in principle to establish a payment service bank in the country in November 2021. The ultimate permission was contingent on meeting certain conditional standards within six months. This suggests that, while MTN has received its own approval, Airtel Nigeria may do so soon.

Nigeria, while having Africa’s biggest unbanked population, has not had the same exponential increase in mobile money usage as its regional peers Ghana and Kenya, and falls behind them in terms of penetration. Since its inception in August 2019, MTN Nigeria’s mobile money service has garnered 9.4 million active customers, according to the company. As the number of use cases for mobile money grows, this approval is expected to boost adoption in Nigeria.

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TECH DIGEST – There are about one billion mobile money accounts globally, according to latest report by cybersecurity giants, Kerspersky. These accounts, the report revealed, process more than $1.9 billion daily.

However, the most interesting aspect of this positive development is that Africa leads the pack with about 46 per cent of the accounts, meaning that a greater chunk of the $1.9 billion is processed in Africa. The continent is also expected to increase the 481 million accounts it currently has, to exceed half a billion accounts before the end of first quarter 2021.

With such a strong growth, the region has no doubt become the epicentre of the global market; but the report also considers it most vulnerable and at the highest risk of cyber attacks.

The report, however, advised consumers to keep mobile wallet safe as cybercriminals are constantly coming up with innovative tactics to compromise people’s wallets whether traditional bank accounts or mobile wallets.

Africa’s strength

Kaspersky said by the end of 2019, Africa had 481 million registered mobile money accounts, making up 46 per cent of global accounts.

Also, with the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in lockdown conditions in many countries, more people, particularly in Africa turned to mobile wallets instead of cash, as a safer option.

The company noted that although cash has long been considered “king” in Africa, mobile money and e-wallets have also been growing exponentially over the past decade, following the number of international and African players who enter and expand into new markets across the continent.

The report says they provide a more user-friendly alternative to processing micro-payments even as they reduce the number of cash people need to carry with them.

Enterprise Sales Manager at Kaspersky in Africa, Bethwel Opil said: “While there is ample benefit to be gained from mobile money, spam, phishing, social engineering, and fraud all form part of the cyberattack landscape when it comes to this innovation. Threat actors are constantly coming up with more innovative tactics to compromise people’s wallets whether these pertain to traditional bank accounts or mobile wallets.

“It is, therefore, imperative that consumers remain vigilant and apply commonsense to their transactions and engagements with mobile money services,” he added.

“Considering the significant growth and potential for mobile money and e-wallets, these payment platforms must maintain a high level of security and keep improving on it.

Education is, therefore, the most critical component of mitigating the risk of social engineering compromises from people opening malicious links, sharing sensitive information, or falling prey to fraudulent schemes,” Opil explained.

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