(AFP Photo)
The three mobile operators in Egypt, Vodafone, Mobinil and Etisalat, have provided some suggestions to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to improve the performance of the mobile cash transfer services, which were introduced earlier this year.
The suggestions come as part of the mobile operators’ initiative to increase the demand for cash transfer services, which were affected by the political turmoil.
“We publicly offered some suggestions on how we can improve the mobile services,” said Mohamed Kamal, public relations officer and media relations team leader at Etisalat.
“One of our suggestions was to make a juncture between customers of the three mobile operators so that customers that belong to different operators can transfer money to one another, as all three operators offer the same service,” Kamal said.
Kamal added that another suggestion was to allow for international transfers in order to increase the volume of mobile cash transfers. Another proposal involved increasing awareness on the security of the service, since “some still believe the service is insecure, although mobile cash transfers are one of the economic foundations in several African countries.”
When questioned on how awareness campaigns can be implemented, Kamal said: “The awareness campaigns can include advertising; and with the recommendation of the central bank on how secure it is, the service can gain more momentum.”
There were also some reports about the mobile operators wanting to increase the withdrawal limit from EGP 3,000 to EGP 5,000. However, Kamal stated that he “personally believes that this might be a futuristic plan, but there is no confirmation on whether or not it will be implemented at the present moment.”
Earlier this month, Mobinil introduced a money transfer service called “MobiCash” in collaboration with BNP Paribas Bank. Mobinil was the third company to launch the mobile cash service following Vodafone’s “Vodafone Cash” and Etisilat’s “Felous”.
