Some banks are impressing on the Bank of Ghana the need to possibly streamline the regulations for Mobile Financial Services. 

The Central Bank announced a new set of guidelines for the service about a year ago to improve money transfer via mobile phones. 

The new regulatory regime among others empowered telecom companies to also own and run the electronic money business like banks. 

Managing Director of HFC Bank, Robert Le-Hunt, however, explains to Joy Business, a level playing field may be required for the desired results.                                   

“If you went to the bank to open an account, there are a number of information asked is not he forms. That is because there are Know Your Client (KYC) requirements and we all ahem to be mindful of that,” he said. 

“As it is now, the restrictions that are placed on banks for us to open an account are not the same as those placed on other institutions, you don’t need all that requirement to open a mobile money account,” he added.

He is calling for all the requirement to be the same adding it is either we choose all or we  increase all.

“It, therefore, means that there are people whom I can’t bring to the banking sector yet other people are able to bring them in to open accounts. 

According to the Southern Zonal Manager for GN Bank, Kofi Fosu, a collaboration between telcos and banks remains the key.                       

“The telcos are not banks, they will need banks if they are keeping an account of all the money they are mobilising. Eventually, the money will sit in the bank and the banks can use them to give out loans to the sector that need it,” he said.

“So we should notably say they are competing, of course, there are competition in every sphere of life and therefore so far as the banks don’t have the facility, skill, ability to do this retail transaction, then we should allow the telcos just like Microfinance and rural banks,” Mr Fosu added.

JOY BUSINESS was engaging the bankers ahead of a forum themed -Mobile Money & Banking: Complementary or Competition.