(Business in Cameroon) - Mobile operators MTN and Orange inked last November 22 the creation agreement of Mowali (mobile wallet interoperability) to allow interoperable payments across Africa.  

This means, MTN’s mobile money users can soon transfer money to Orange’s MoMo subscribers in real time, and vice versa. “Mowali will immediately benefit from the reach of MTN Mobile Money and Orange Money, bringing together over 100 million mobile money accounts and mobile money operations in 22 of sub-Saharan Africa’s 46 markets,” including Cameroon where this market segment is presented a new growth driver for the local subsidiary of Orange group.

The initiative is expected to reduce the service cost in Cameroon. “Interoperability of digital payments has been the toughest hurdle for the financial services industry to overcome, in support of financial inclusion. With Mowali, Orange and MTN deliver a solution that will enable them, and other companies, to scale digital financial services across Africa, faster, to everyone—including the poor,” said Kosta Peric, deputy director of Financial Services for the Poor, at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  

Let’s mention that the joint venture announcement occurs a few months after the Bank of Central African Countries Beac authorized the mobile operator Nexttel to launch its MoMo service called Nexttel possa, in partnership with the local branch of Nigeria’s UBA group.

Brice R. Mbodiam