Prime News Ghana

Parliament debates legality of mobile money services by telcos

By primenewsghana.com
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 Parliament has started discussing the legality of the mobile money system being operated by the telecommunication companies in the country.

An estimated amount 33 billion cedis was used for mobile money transactions in 2015 and it is projected to reach 40 billion before the end of 2016.

Though Bank of Ghana has insisted it has put in place some regulation to monitor the operations of the telcos, New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for the Efutu Constituency in the Central Region, Alexander Afenyo Markin disagrees.

According to myjoyonline, Mr Markin believes the Central bank ‘has disappointed the entire nation” for allowing the telcos to commence the mobile money business without the necessary legal framework.

The outspoken NPP MP said, “There is no regulation and that is one thing that I am even so surprised at the banks especially the commercial banks".

Despite agreeing that the introduction of the system had brought some convenience in money transfer transactions in the country, he questioned the capability of the telcos especially in the areas of law enforcement and crime prevention.

But the Employment and Labour Relations minister, Haruna Iddrisu said the sector is being regulated by the Central bank.

He said there is a legal framework to ensure that the system is well-monitored from individuals who may want to abuse it.