The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday granted United Bank for Africa (UBA) the final licence to operate a mobile payment service known as U-MO.
According to a statement issued yesterday and made available to Leadership by the divisional head, marketing and corporate relations directorate, UBA, Charles Aigbe, U-MO was among the seven licences granted by the CBN.
The apex bank had last year granted approval by principle, enabling UBA Group to quickly deploy and commence full operations with the establishment of Afripay, its mobile banking subsidiary.
The chief executive officer, Afripay, Dr. Yinka Adedeji, while receiving the licence, commended the CBN for its efforts in promoting a cashless economy through mobile payment platforms that guaranteed ease and efficiency.
The U-MO provides higher level of security than cards, given that one required four digit personal identification number (PIN) and possession of the customer’s mobile phone to perform any operation.
He noted that granting the final licence to Afribank was because the firm demonstrated superior technical, security, financial and business readiness.
“We are greatly encouraged by this demonstration. It is a significant morale booster given that we have been ready for full operations since November, 2010. Various categories of customers, including the banked and un-banked, have begun to embrace our services”, Adedeji said.
In order to ensure that all customer segments are covered by U-MO, Adedeji said that Afripay had introduced a number of products, including U-MO silver, gold, and platinum.
“U-MO silver is for customers with very little information and allows them to spend or pay up to N3,000 per transaction and up to N30,000 per day while gold is for customers with contact information and details. A U-MO gold customer is allowed to spend or pay up to N10,000 per transaction and up to N100,000 per day,” he explained.