The Governor of Nigeria’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has described Nigeria’s first Mobile Money Super Agent Network, Glo Xchange, launched in Lagos on Thursday, August 21, as the beginning of a deeper collaboration between the financial sector and the telecommunications industry.
In a statement he personally signed on the launch of the platform, Emefiele congratulated Globacom for launching Glo Xchange, saying it was a win-win situation for all stakeholders.
The Glo Xchange platform was launched by Globacom in partnership with three licensed mobile money operators, FirstMonie, Ecobank and Stanbic IBTC in Lagos on Thursday.
Globacom’s Head of Corporate Sales, Mr. Kamal Shonibare, saidGlo Xchange would avail the mobile money sector of the much needed agent network across the entire country as well as the technology platform required for seamless mobile money transactions.
He said the initiative would provide the partner banks on the project with the telecom company’s extensive network of 150 Glo World & Glo Zone shops, over 35,000 Glo Dealer and sub dealer outlets and over 400 Con Oil filling stations across the country. The initiative is also leveraging on the Association of Community pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) with their over 7,000 outlets.He added that this has positioned the Glo Xchange platform for phenomenal success from its first day of operation.
Shonibare said the partnering banks and Globacom would collaborate to ensure that mobile money reached the critical mass of the people across the country, leveraging on the parties’ extensive retail market experience and customer-base to build an unprecedented mobile money distribution chain across Nigeria.
“The obvious push to reduce the physical movement of cash during business transactions in the economy has stimulated the “marriage” between telecoms operators and the banks, which invariably led to the birth of Glo Xchange”, he remarked.
He said Glo Xchange offered a robust platform to provide mobile money service to both banked and unbanked Nigerians, enabling existing and potential customers of partner banks to carry out transactions under the three key areas of banking transactions – deposits, withdrawals and transfers.
Based on the agreement with the partner banks, Globacom will recruit mobile money agents, train them and also provide management services for the partner banks, making available its network infrastructure to support mobile financial transactions. Glo will also provide a dedicated helpline for customers to make inquiries about mobile money services.
The banks, on their part, will provide their mobile money platforms to Globacom’s mobile subscribers in compliance with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s policy on mobile money. They will also provide specialized trading platform and merchandising materials to the recruited agents while managing customer accounts and support services.
Speaking at the launch event, the Managing Director of Firstmonie, Mike Ogbalu said that Glo Xchange would make financial services available to more Nigerians especially at the grassroots, corroborating the Ecobank’s Executive Director, Kingsley Aigbokhaevo’s assertion that the Network, through Glo Xchange, would drive financial inclusion in the country.
Aigbokhaevo cited the example of the Conditional Cash Transfer program of the Federal Government as one of the ways in which mobile money is already impacting positively on the lives of the common people through Globacom.
He disclosed that under Glo Xchange platform, Ecobank mobile money wallet, hosted on Glo Mobile lines, was already being used to disburse monthly subvention to beneficiaries.
He also disclosed that youth farmers in Ekiti State are also receiving subsidies through the same means.
Speaking on behalf of Stanbic IBTC, Executive Director, Mr. Obinna Abajue said his bank was proud to be associated with Globacom because “Glo, in its characteristic manner, has provided the bridge that will deliver true financial inclusion in Nigeria”.
