[ 2014-12-20 ]

Money launderers could take advantage of mobile money platforms
The Director of operations of the Republic Bank,
Robert Le Hunte, has warned commercial Banks to be
mindful of money launderers as they try to rope in
Ghana’s unbanked population through Mobile Money
services.

The Mobile money system has been suggested as a
channel to get many Ghanaians join the formal
banking system. The suggestion came up at the 14
MTN Business World Executive Breakfast meeting in
Accra.


“I agree that the banks have to try to bring
much more via technology and via MTN and all these
different mobile banking solutions bring more
people into the formal banking sector.

“But we also need to be mindful that in doing
that we also have to be cognisant of the kinds of
money we are also bringing and ensure that we are
not going to be inadvertently playing a role in
allowing illegal money to find its way into the
system because that is a big threat throughout the
world and its one of the concerns on the
horizon,” Mr Le Hunte told Osei Owusu Amankwaah
of Starr Business.

The Mobile Voice subscriber base in Ghana stood at
about 30 million at the end of October 2014.

This means many Ghanaians own more than one phone.
Approximately 90% of business transactions remain
cash-based. These numbers suggest a massive
opportunity for mobile payments to replace cash
and for mobile platforms to deliver financial
services at a much lower cost than traditional
banking models to millions of unbanked consumers.

A research by the Tufts University in the United
States has revealed that mobile money services can
promote financial inclusion and savings in rural
Ghana.

It showed that the use of mobile money can be
easily promoted and this could also encourage a
savings culture.

However, Mr. Le Hunt says inasmuch as there is a
great chance for commercial banks to take
advantage of the prevailing mobile phone
environment, they should be careful swindlers do
not use the banking system to legitimise illegal
monies.

Source - Starrfmonline

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