MTN inaugurates 2021 MoMo Month

MTN Mobile Money Limited, a subsidiary of MTN Ghana has inaugurated the 2021 edition of the MoMo month to reward customers who make payments for goods and services through MoMo Merchant IDs and QR codes.

Introduced in 2012, the month-long celebration has for the past nine years been instrumental in driving awareness, influencing policy decisions, and deepening the adoption and acceptance of e-money nationwide.

The Head of the Mobile Financial Services Commercial Department, Abdul-Majeed Rufai, speaking to some journalists during the launch of the 2021 edition of the MTN MoMo month, said MTN Mobile Money agents will be rewarded this year.

 “There are three SUVs 4×4 at stake for our agents. Apart from that, there are other prizes such as motorbikes, security cameras to be given out to them.” he stated.

“The merchants also will not be left out. We will be giving away a number of laptops and tablets to our merchants so that they can use it as part of their payments and identify their payment. This year’s MoMo month coincides with the 25th anniversary of MTN.” Mr. Rufai added

 Eli Hini, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN’s Mobile Money Limited, in his address called on Ghanaians to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by effectively utilizing the country’s digital payment platforms.

He said “Today, with the emergence of AfCFTA our markets have been widened and with the increasing acceptance of e-commerce, digital payments are expected to grow. We believe that if our payment platforms are fully utilized the socio-economic benefits will be enormous.”

Based on that, Mr. Hini added “we are committed to elevating the level of awareness of digital payments and the benefits that can be derived from these innovations.”

Emphasizing on the MoMo month celebration, he urged all retailers, distributors, and service providers to sign up to the MoMo platforms, saying: “Let’s all contribute our quota in consolidating digital payments in the country.”

Ruth Badoo, Senior Manager, MFS Operations and Service Delivery, in her welcome address spoke about the importance of adopting digital payment preferably through MoMo.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Ghana directed telecommunications companies, financial technology companies, mobile money operators, utility providers, among other organizations to provide information on the credit behaviour of borrowers to curb risk associated with lending.

Other organizations required to also provide information about their clients to the Credit Reporting System (CRS) database include retailers; government institutions that offer credit to MSMEs; institutions that provide identification documents; entities that supply goods and services on a post-paid or installment basis; Student Loan Schemes provided by private or government agencies; and other entities that have relevant data and information that complies with permissible purposes of credit bureaus.

According to the directive, the move will help promote the sharing of information on the credit history of debtors with lenders and other users of the CRS, given credit information sharing is beneficial to both lenders and borrowers as it helps lenders or creditors better assess the credit risk of each borrower or debtor.