MTN Ghana has dismissed reports that the company planned shutting down its MTN MoMo Service.
A statement issued by the company in
Accra said: “MTN Ghana has noted with grave concern an audio and text messages
circulating on social media requesting MoMo users to withdraw their money due
to an eminent shutdown of the MTN MoMo Service which is as a result of
disturbances in South Africa and Nigeria.”
The statement said: “MTN Ghana/MTN MoMo Ltd has no intention to shut down its
services and as a matter of fact MTN is incapable of doing so as per its
regulatory and contractual agreements.”
It said MTN MoMo is not a centralised service being operated at the MTN Group
level South Africa or even Nigeria. “Customers’ funds are safely lodged with
our 18 partner banks in Ghana.”
The statement said MTN MoMo had operated in Ghana for the past 10 years and the
track record of its growth and commitment to the Ghanaian market was evident.
“The CEO of MTN Ghana, Mr Selorm Adadevoh and General Manager of Mobile
Financial Services, are still at post and have not vacated their positions. The
burning of MTN service centres is an incident that took place in Nigeria and not
Ghana,” the statement said.
Addressing the issues raised in the audio and text message, the Acting General
Manager of MTN Mobile Financial Services, Mr. Abdul Majeed Rufai urged MoMo
customers to remain calm and also ignore the messages making rounds as they
were completely false and without basis.
He said, “After 10 years of driving financial inclusion through various initiatives to support the cashless economy agenda, MTN MoMo has established itself as a trusted mobile financial partner with over 14 million subscribers and providing indirect employment for over 120,000 people as its agents and merchants across the country.”
He added that customers have no cause to panic as their funds are secured and lodged with 18 partner banks who were in very good standing according to the Central Bank.
He said, “Customers’ funds are very safe on the MoMo platform and there is no need to withdraw money and send them to the banks again as all financial transactions can be done on the MoMo platform.”
MTN Mobile Money Service is the first mobile money service to have been launched in Ghana and the first to have received the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification. MTN Ghana has demonstrated its commitment to the people of Ghana, having successfully listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange as a public company in 2018.
MTN MoMo was launched in July 2009 to provide ease of undertaking financial transaction on the phone. Launched with two main services i.e. Money Transfer and Airtime Purchase, the MoMo platform has six major categories of financial transactions under which varying services are provided including pensions, insurance, savings, microloans, international remittances, and banking options.
BY TIMES REPORTER