[kictanet] Equity Bank vs Safaricom :-Round 2

Wed Sep 17 14:33:59 EAT 2014

Thanks Gicheru,

I was really getting woried...most of the security concerns raised by listers are the very same ones traditional banks raised against MPESA a few years ago.  Luckily, the regulators then ignored them otherwise the global story of MPESA may never have been told let alone celebrated.

Folks, I am NOT saying there is NO issue with thin-SIM.  There are, but I worry when we sound defeatist and perhaps scared to open a new story of mobile money.  If Kenyans can't do, no one else in the world will.

Lets bring out the concerns, but with a view to resolving them rather than running away from them.

walu.
shared secret: as an info-security professional, I was so paranoid about MPESA that I ended being what strategy books call - Laggards or more politely Late adopters. For years I was quite paralysed with my security analysis (analytic paralysis syndrome) and could dare not sign up. Eventually ofcourse I grudgingly signed up - but still get shivers when am sending that mobile money :-)

--------------------------------------------
On Wed, 9/17/14, Martin Gicheru via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [kictanet] Equity Bank vs Safaricom :-Round 2
 To: jwalu at yahoo.com
 Date: Wednesday, September 17, 2014, 2:00 PM

 @Dennis: I don't
 see Equity Bank worried that they may be exposing consumers
 in the way you just presented, and this has not come out yet
 in an argument before. You realize that the same bank
 account has been accessible on the mobile phone via USSD
 shortcodes that most of these banks have that they call
 "mobile banking".
 On Wed, Sep 17, 2014
 at 1:33 PM, Collins Areba via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
 wrote:
 Come to think of this, Would this lead to a rise
 in Handset Locking to network under plans much like AT&T
 does elsewhere? Leading to a change in business model from
 exclusively traditional Prepay to Device Lock in. Or does
 the regulator intend to block the larger companies from
 doing this too?

 On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 1:28 PM,
 Dennis Kioko via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
 wrote:
 I've
 been using the Equitel SIM card for a few days. 
 One of the things that people have been
 overlooking in the whole argument is that the Equitel SIM
 card virtually has your whole bank account sitting on
 it. 
 So while we are frothing on the mouth over M-Pesa
 security, I would think that many people will have more
 money in their bank account than on the SIM card. No one
 seems to be talking about security on the users side - I
 mean, if the Thin-SIM's security is compromised, then
 your whole bank account is
 compromised. 

 On Wednesday, 17 September 2014, Martin Gicheru via kictanet
 <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
 wrote:
 Also thinking about the part where the SIM card
 will need to be inactive while the other is active, I think
 Safaricom do have a legal point where they will have a
 technical outage as the user switches to second SIM. You
 know, unlike Dual-SIM which allows for dual standby, these
 two SIMs will not operate at the same time.  That and the
 part where we still are not sure about data security as
 mentioned by Collins and Delano. 
 Brings me to this: Who is supposed to test and
 verify that the thin SIM wont compromise on the security of
 the primary SIM and why hasn't this been done by now. If
 I was Safaricom I would worry about giving access to my
 customer usage habits, just like any subscribed service is
 able to access from their users to make their services
 better or like in the case of Google and the likes, serve
 better ads.
 Martin Gicheru
 On Wed, Sep 17, 2014
 at 12:37 PM, Collins Areba via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
 wrote:
 Safaricom's Case seems grounded on the fact
 that The Thin Sim sits squarely in between your safaricom
 SIM card (that offers security layer to your accounts within
 the safaricom network) and the handset whose input devices
 you use to interact with their SIM. In theory therefore all
 keystrokes can therefore be "logged", For the
 Record I will not be putting anything in that phone that I
 use heavily for bank transactions because while not yet
 proven beyond reasonable doubt, Safaricom does have a point.

 On Wed, Sep 17, 2014
 at 11:30 AM, Walubengo J via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
 wrote:
 @
 Harry D,

 I did cover all your questions in the blog. I also thought
 Parliament (with all due respect to our very able Hon. MP,
 Eng J. Rege who sits on the respective committee) has jumped
 the gun and got involved too soon. They should let the
 regulator do their thing as per law.

 Meanwhile, you and I know, there is nothing like 100%
 security (otherwise German Premier's phone would not
 have been bugged by the CIA :-) So rather than discuss how
 insecure the technology is, we should be discussing how to
 implement the technology with increased levels of
 assurance/security.

 walu.

 --------------------------------------------

 On Wed, 9/17/14, Harry Delano via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

  Subject: Re: [kictanet] Fw: Equity Bank vs Safaricom
 :-Round 2

  To: jwalu at yahoo.com

  Date: Wednesday, September 17, 2014, 10:56 AM

  What about the headlines indicating

  Parliament has  to have a final say on this, based on

  alleged security ramifications posed by this new Thin-Sim

  Technology..  It is claimed that it's prone to
 hacks,

  attacks, DoS etc.. and  "will erode significantly
 the

  gains achieved so far in mobile money market.."
 Anyone

  with any idea where the technology currently implemented

  - 

  Harry

  On Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at

  10:00 PM, Mark Kipyegon via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>

  wrote:

  Mpesa succeeds

  primarily because of a strong distribution network. IMO

  Equity have the existing clientele and the resources to

  offer a product that can genuinely challenge

  Safaricom.

  On 16 Sep 2014, at 20:11, "Ahmed Mohamed

  Maawy via kictanet" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>

  wrote:

  With Ali on this one. Mobile

  Money is a gone case in Kenya. If Equity is really
 providing

  a value add service then its not through its mobile

  platform. Airtel, Yu and Orange all have far cheaper
 mobile

  money services. If there was a service that would be the

  first to topple M-Pesa it would have been Airtel Money.

  Heck, Airtel even offers cheaper call rates from Airtel
 to

  Safaricom than from Safaricom to Safaricom and they still

  are not getting customers. Did I mention their network

  coverage is even stronger?

  And what would Equity need to do? Set up masts

  in as far as Kitui, or as far as Maralal, or as far as

  Isiolo? Theres a lot of work to be done before Equity

  becomes a service provider to even match the least

  established provider there is. They would be better off

  working with Yu mobile than working even against
 Safaricom.

  No offence.

  So the business

  here is in the value add services, which is where mobile

  commerce comes in. What is done is done, the value add is

  what is the worth for now. Not the competition. Because

  competition already exists, no sense saturating it

  further.

  On Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at

  7:57 PM, McTim via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>

  wrote:

  http://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab/2014/09/disrupting-mobile-banking-kenya

  Does anyone know which

  network Equity is 'virtual" on?

  rgds,

  McTim

  On Tue, Sep 16,

  2014 at 10:03 AM, Sophia Bekele via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>

  wrote:

  resting

  discussion on where mobile baking is going....

   With

  best wishes,

  Sophia

  Support our "YES" to

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    On Tuesday, September

  16, 2014 7:52 AM, Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>

  wrote:

  @Walu

  Lets wait and see...Many have

  written off Safaricom before. What I'm loving

   about this discussion though is the elephant in the room.
 I

  believe Kenyans are waiting for the next big thing. This

  mobile money thing has been hyped and flogged until its

  dead. The next big thing is mobile commerce. 

  And I don't mean the 'Lipa

  na Mpesa' variety. 

  I mean real m-commerce enablement -

  SME supply chain financing, invoice discounting etc.

  That's where the future is and that's why the KCB

  tie up is interesting. My only concern with that is that

  most banks (fortunately for Safaricom) are old school

  thinkers unwilling to venture into the

  unknown. 

  This ship

  hasn't sailed yet. It remains to be seen who will be
 at

  the helm.

  Ali

  Hussein

  +254 770 906375 / 0713

   601113

  Twitter:

  @AliHKassimSkype:

  abu-jomoLinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassimBlog: www.alyhussein.com

  "I fear the day

  technology will surpass human interaction. The world will

   have a generation of idiots".  ~ Albert

  Einstein

  Sent

  from my iPad

  On Sep 16,

  2014, at 5:31 PM, Walubengo J <jwalu at yahoo.com>

  wrote:

  @Ali,

  Equity is

  not just after Safaricom lunch, they are after their
 dinner

  as well :-).

  This thin-SIM technology will do what

  Number Portability failed to do.  People are likely to

  "Vooka" onto Equity (cheaper) voice services

  without having to buy two phones or dual-SIM phones.

    Equity mobile money value proposition, will have the

  side-effect of knock the breath out of Safaricom's
 voice

  revenues...fortunately, Safcom can see this, and they are

  not taking it kindly :-)

  We are

  indeed living in very interesting times in .Ke

  walu.

  --------------------------------------------

  On Tue, 9/16/14, Ali Hussein via kictanet

  <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>

  wrote:

   Subject: Re: [kictanet] Equity Bank vs

  Safaricom :-Round 2

   To: jwalu at yahoo.com

   Date: Tuesday, September 16, 2014, 3:18

  PM

   Collins 

  Well put. 

   Walu, 

   I'm keen to understand how

  a

   technology which is a

  commodity ( read here that Safaricom

   can also implement the same technology)

  can usurp

   Safaricom's

  unassailable lead in this

  space.

   What's my

   point? 

  Technology is

   an accelerator

  and NOT The Strategy in itself. Assume first

   that what you can access in the open

  market (as opposed to

  restricted

   technology under patent) your competitors can do

   so too. We usually forget this but MPesa

  isn't even the

   best mobile

  technology in the country. Not even by a long

   short! They managed to capture their

  base through first

   mover

  advantage and a positioning statement that was

   apparently well received by Kenyans. And

  of course there is

   the Network

  Effect of being ubiquitous in the

   space.

  Equity needs to

   execute with

  excellence and not depend on the Technology to

   take on Safaricom.

   Needless to say I would love to be

  a

   fly on the wall in the

  strategy sessions currently going on

   in both companies. Careers will be made or broken

  on

   this..no doubt about

  that.

   Ali

   Hussein

  +254 770

   906375 / 0713

  601113

   Twitter:

  @AliHKassimSkype: abu-jomoLinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassimBlog: www.alyhussein.com

   "I

  fear the day

   technology will

  surpass human interaction. The world will

   have a generation of idiots".  ~

  Albert

   Einstein

   Sent from my iPad

   On Sep

   16,

   2014, at 1:06 PM, Collins

  Areba via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>

   wrote:

   "We

  are glad

   to use this platform

  to deliver an extension service to our

   customers, It is our heartfelt desire to

  satisfy our

   customers first,

  and if technology affords us that

   opportunity, we are obliged to take up

  on it. If the same

   technology

  should allow us to interact with our customers,

   and have an opportunity to give them

  voice and data

   in the same

  breath, then why not, those would be extras

   to

   the benefit of our

  client... "

   Paraphrased from memory during

  an

   interview on Citizen last

  week. I think this opens the game

   wide Open, and For the Record, Safaricom

  should be given a

   Commercial

  Banking license.

   My 10 Cents.

   On Tue,

  Sep 16, 2014 at

   12:06 PM,

  Walubengo J via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>

   wrote:

  Listers,

   I thought you might find this

  interesting,

   ----------------

   After

  Equity Bank decided to directly play in the mobile

   money market by issuing its own SIM

  cards, we debated

   heatedly in

  a previous blog whether Safaricom had finally

   met its match.  At the time, it was

  assumed that Equity

   would be

  selling the traditional SIM card, which would

   require customers to either buy dual

  SIM-card phones or

   carry two

  phones in order to access services from two

   existing providers.

   Even

  within the inconvenient scenario above, Equity with

  its

   large customer base was

  bound to pose some significant

  competition to the leading mobile money provider

   Safaricom.  The surprise, it seems, is

  the secret weapon

   Equity

  unveiled recently in the form of a Thin-SIM

   Card....

  ------

   Read more @

   http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/blogs/dot9/walubengo/-/2274560/2453920/-/11d48l2z/-/index.html

  _______________________________________________

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