The Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents of Nigeria recently announced an increase in their service charge fee.
This announcement which has been making the round was finally confirmed by the Public Relations Officer of AMMBAN Mr
Olusegun Elegbede via a Press Release.
Mr. Elegbede said that the recent increase in the service charge of Agent had elicited various responses and needed to be clarified.
The PRO in acknowledging the role of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as the market regulator, emphasized that AMMBAN’s efforts are not aimed at changing the prices of transactions fixed by the CBN for the operators.
He went on to state that the industry’s successes can largely be attributed to the Mobile Money and Bank agents who, over the past decade, have dedicated their efforts and resources to co-building a financial service industry that Nigerians can truly embrace.
Enlightening that there are two aspects of Agency Banking: firstly the regulatory side which is overseen by the CBN and the other part being that of the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) side.
He went further to clear the air that AMMBAN is not a regulator and has no intention of usurping such powers, however, the SMEs aspect of the industry is largely dependent on AMMBAN because this side includes the wellbeing of the agents.
Elegbede said the Agent often bears the cost of operations, transportation to the Bank, cost of space and work tools including paying the standard rates set by the CBN, even though they are registered under a provider, sometimes at a fee.
The AMMBAN PRO went on to emphasize that the recent action by the Association to up prices is a direct response to the current economic realities in the country which aims at ensuring that agents can continue to stay in business.
Mr. Elegbede said ” It is essential to remember that the Agents services are not subsidized by The the CBN or any of the Mobile Money Operators (MMOs).
The burden of the current economic reality lies squarely on the shoulders of the agent”.
He went further to re-iterate the fact that the average agent faces numerous challenges, including surging inflation, overhead costs (such as source of funding, rent, staff salaries, POS paper costs, data subscriptions, security, multiple taxation/levies), and various risks such as loss of funds through licensed operators’ channels, fraud, and robbery.
The Public Relations Offucer appealed to the Public saying, “our position remains noble” stressing that the current economic reality in the country has negatively impacted the ‘Cost to serve’ for Agents, because the business has become unprofitable for agents.
In view of the above Mr. Elegbede implored the CBN and other relevant stakeholders to bear in mind that while they remain in their boardrooms and offices, formulating policies, over one point eight million (1.800,000) Mobile moiney and Bank ageynts across the country are on the streets, serving Nigerians with little or no support, despite the overwhelming challenges they face.
Adding that one would expect the Operators, whose existence is guaranteed only by the active participation of agents, to show some level of concern for the plight of these agents who are currently struggling under the harsh economic conditions across the country. Instead, they are being thrown under the bus, asked to soldier on without any efforts to mitigate the effects this situation has on them.
Pointing out that thr association understands that there is no Mobile Money and Agency Banking without agents. Therefore, they should not be treated as if their lives do not matter
The PRO said that AMMBAN is open to delibrations on the issue at hand putting it in his words; “AMMBAN maintains an open-door policy for cooperation and collaboration”.