MTN assures of swift MoMo service despite ‘No ID card, No Cash’ directive

MTN MobileMoney Limited has assured its customers that the implementation of the directive to present ID cards during MoMo transactions will not adversely affect the smooth and swift nature of the service.

At a virtual media forum, CEO of MobileMoney Limited, Eli Hini explained that the exercise will be seamless and will not unnecessarily distort transaction turn around time.

Verification of the ID cards will be seamless and this will not affect the smooth running of the service”, stated Hini who was answering question on the delay likely to be experienced due to the implementation of the directive.

He gave the assurance that once the implementation starts on April 2, MTN will keep monitoring the process and take feedback to improve it where necessary while giving customers the best of experience.

Hini further explained that because of the pictorial verification, all valid ID cards bearing the name of the wallet owner; i.e. Passports, Drivers License, Voters ID, Ghana Card, NHIS and SSNIT card are allowed, irrespective of which ID was used for the wallet registration.

It does not matter which of the ID the customer used in registering the wallet – provided he has any of the other valid ID cards with his or her picture and name on it and the picture can be verified by the agent, the cash out will be done,” he indicated.

He however stressed that only physical ID cards will be accepted, explaining that if a customer submits the picture of a valid ID on his phone it will not be accepted.

Any agent who accepts an ID captured on phone  will be sanctioned if found out,” he said.

Eli Hini mentioned that sanctions can have far reaching implications for the agent because as MTN  is working with Bank of Ghana to put together agents registry, which will ensure that any agent sanctioned by one operator will also be blacklisted by the regulator and will not be able to work for any other operator.

the MobileMoney CEO stated that all the over 150,000 mobile money agents across the country have been provided with the necessary education, training and devices to effectively implement the system from tomorrow April 2, 2021.

He said the agents have been provided with devices to be able to do picture verification of the customer before the cash out will be done, adding that the idea is to ensure that only the wallet owner can be able to do a cash out.

The ID requirement is ultimately intended to assist customers to keep the first golden rule of mobile money, which is not ensure that one’s PIN is not divulged to any third party.

It is also to prevent the situation where cash out transactions are done on a customer’s wallet at an agent point and the customer later reports that they did not initiate the transaction and that they had been defrauded with the assistance of an agent.

The new system is also to cure the illegal practice where some people use mobile money wallets registered in the name of other persons due to the irregularities in the SIM registration.

Read also: MTN increases daily withdrawals, wallet balance on Mobile Money

MTN is therefore urging all customers to regularize the details on their mobile money wallets by ensuring that the person using the wallet is actually the same person in whose name the SIM and wallet is registered.

According to Hini, if for health reasons, the owner of a wallet cannot visit an agent and has to rely on proxy transaction, the wallet owner would be required to send a letter from the health facility directly to MTN service center (not agents) and include his ID and that of the appointed proxy.

If the person cannot use the phone then we require a letter from the hospital and contact details of the doctor in charge and this should be sent to our service center only with the person’s ID and the ID of the person presenting the request for cash out for assistance,” he stressed.

But if the sick person can use the phone, “it would be better for him/her to perform a transfer to someone who can assist with the cash out, adding that “this is to prevent the customer from compromising his/her PIN.”

He said MobileMoney Limited remains committed in the fight against MoMo fraud and will continue to implement measures that will make the service safer.

According to him, the request for ID card for MoMo transactions is not a new requirement, adding that it has been part of the service offering from start and is strictly enforced at MTN branch Offices or Service Centers nationwide, but it is now being extended to the merchants.

To make MoMo usage safer, MTN customers are encouraged to continue to observe the three Golden Rules for mobile money usage.

1. Customers should at no point disclose their MoMo PIN codes to anyone,
2. They should never allow other people to perform transactions on their behalf,
3. They must not entertain any calls that seek to discuss their wallets or get them to respond to promotions they have not participated in.

Source: Kofi Ahovi