Globacom recently announced the official launch of MoneyMaster PSB, its payment service bank business licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to help provide financial services to unbanked and underbanked Nigerians.
Speaking on the development, the digital solution provider said, “our over-arching business objective remains to empower Nigerians by providing them with unlimited opportunities. MoneyMaster extends that objective by targetting the unbanked and under-banked with G-Kala, its flagship product to deepen financial inclusion in Nigeria.”
To use MoneyMaster, customers’ phone number doubles as their account number. With this, they can receive cash from any mobile app and move money to other accounts. To open an account, the customer dials *995# and follows the prompts from a Glo line or any other telecommunications network.
Like other PSBs, Glo’s MoneyMaster will facilitate payment and remittance services within Nigeria, accept customers’ deposits, issue debit and prepaid cards, operate electronic wallets, invest in FGN and CBN securities, and any other activities prescribed by the Central Bank.
The telecommunication giant is not alone, and telecom operators like MTN and Airtel were granted approval-in-principle (AIP) for Payment Service Bank (PSB) licenses with their fintech arms MoMo and Smartcash, respectively. However, Globacom’s MoneyMaster has gotten the final approval to operate as a PSB alongside 9PSB and Hope PSB since 2020. One would wonder why the telecom giant has delayed the official launch. Possibly, the disruptive COVID-19 pandemic.
Catalysing financial inclusion and providing employment
Nigeria still has a financial inclusion problem, and this is the essence of creating PSBs – to bridge this gap. In 2012, the Central Bank of Nigeria set itself an ambitious target to financially include 80 per cent of its adult population by the year 2020. However, only 64 per cent of bankable adults were financially included by the end of the target year.
Although the target year has passed, the need to bridge the existing financial inclusion gap persists and the apex bank is going all the way to achieve this. So the role of facilitating the growth of financial inclusion for Nigerians has since moved from just the domain of commercial banks. Now, technology has disrupted the narrative, and we are witnessing fintech startups ensuring droves of unbanked people are included in the country’s financial system.
Not only will MoneyMaster be leveraging mobile phones, PoS, and the web to provide their financial services to millions of unbanked Nigerians, but it will also be riding on the wings of Globacom’s already established cutting-edge infrastructure and customers.
The telecoms company presently has the highest number of active subscriptions in the country. In July, Glo had the highest gain of 2.1 million subscriptions driving the number of active subscriptions for telecommunications across the mobile networks of MTN, Airtel, and 9mobile to 208.6 million.
Beyond its financial inclusion gain, it would also serve as a source of gainful employment for Nigerians. In spreading the gospel of financial inclusion, the telecoms company would be engaging over 100,000 agents across Nigeria. On the plus side, these agents stand a chance to get additional revenue as they get sim activation, registration, and transaction incentives.
