Key Things To Look Out For Before Using Any Mobile Money Operator

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Is my money safe? Why should I put my card details on this website or application? These people must be scammers… These are the typical reactions of an average Nigerian asked for his/her card details online.

Mobile money/payment is new to most Nigerians, as such most people are still wary about sharing their card details online.

  1. How does Mobile Money/Payment work?

Mobile Money transforms your smartphone into an electronic wallet (e-wallet). Funds could be stored in your mobile e-wallet for making electronic payment for goods and services, to transfer funds to family and friends, pay your bills and buy airtime.This reduces your need to carry cash around when shopping and also makes life easier, convenient and safe.

Your e-wallet could be funded via authorised mobile payment  operators, partner banks, network service providers, transfers from your ATM/Debit cards, or any other funding method offered by your operator. Once you download the app and register, your card is secure and ready for use. Which means you can conveniently use your smartphone to send money to family and friends, buy airtime of any network, etc. Gone are the old days of using your phone to just call, receive and send text messages.

To be sure your money is safe, here are few questions you should ask yourself and look out for before using any mobile money operator

  • Is the operator licensed to offer mobile money services by CBN?

In Nigeria, the regulatory body for mobile money is the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The CBN framework for mobile payments goes a long way in ensuring funds in the schemes are well secured and protected from fraud.

   2. What are your rights?

Mobile money consumers have rights to ease of enrollment, Privacy, Trust, and Security of transaction convenience. Ensure proper confirmation of transaction details and recipients’ mobile phone numbers at all times before authorizing transactions,comply with all security rules as provided by the scheme operator, escalate complaints to the Consumer Protection Departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria, if resolution of complaints is unduly delayed. These rights were put together by CBN.

  1. Is the mobile operator PCI DSS secured?

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a proprietary information security standard for organizations that handle branded credit cards from the major card schemes including Visa and MasterCard.

They Help merchants and financial institutions understand and carry out standards for security policies, technologies and ongoing processes that protect their payment systems from breaches and theft of cardholder data.So you have to be sure your mobile operator is PCI DSS secured before using.

Widely accepted communications protocols allow mobile phones to communicate with different technologies. Mobile technology is making mobile payments more secure and safe for its consumers. Newer smartphone apps help direct connection and authentication of payers and recipients, with the use technology security companies like PCIDSS,3Ds and VeriSign to secure and watch all online transactions. Zoto is licensed by CBN and is PCI DSS certified to make sure all your details stay safe. Zoto is a good example of a verified mobile money operator, the app lets you make convenient transactions with no hassle.

 

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