BEAC denounces transfers via Mobile Money outside the Cemac zone

Abbas Mahamat Tolli, Governor of the Bank of Central African States (Beac), has spoken on the transfer of money via Mobile Money within the Economic Community of Central African States (Cameroon, Congo , Central African Republic, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad) 

"You have mobile operators who, without the authorization, or the constraints to which the banks are subject, do exactly the activity of the banks. It's better to ensure that, "Abbas Tolli said. For whom, measures must be taken to avoid the risks of money laundering and tax evasion. Or even the financing of terrorism.

"We're going to have instruments that take all of these parameters into account. We must expand the scope of supervision of these innovations so that these innovations are circumscribed. Our texts do not allow such operations to be carried out, "explained the governor of the Central Bank.

The intervention of Abbas Mahamat Tolli comes in a context where mobile phone operators in Cameroon have embarked on cash transfers in virtually every country in Africa. MTN Cameroon, for example, is currently sending money to 25 countries in Africa from an MTN Mobile Money account.

Moreover, thanks to WorldRemit, a British actor of new technologies, people living in more than 50 different countries can send money to family and friends in Cameroon with the same ease as through SMS.

The recipient has the choice of the method of collecting the money: bank transfer in any bank in Cameroon, recharge of mobile telephony with a depository MTN or Orange, or even species to be collected in one of the hundreds Partners in Cameroon.

In February 2017, the Telecommunication Regulatory Agency took stock of the data it has on mobile money in Cameroon, since its launch in 2011. Thus, until 2014, this sector has recorded transactions amounting to 72 billion FCFA. According to TRA, these 72 billion FCFA correspond to nine million transactions through SMS. At the moment, more than 6000 payment points exist throughout Cameroon. WorldRemit said cash transfers play a major role in the country's economy as Cameroonians received $ 244 million (about CFAF 134 billion) in 2015, according to figures from the  World Bank.

SOURCE:CAMEROON-CONCORD