[kictanet] Is it Consumer Safety or Competition between Safaricom & Equity?

[Cecilia Nyawira]

CAK is supposed to be the independent expert that grants licences. What is this 'independent panel of experts' that is 'to be appointed by the house committee' about? 
From a consumer rights perspective I would rather use Equity than Safcom because lets face it, Safcom is a bank which enjoys non-licence status. 
I would ask Equity to go to court and demand on behalf of mobile users that the same scrutiny that is being accorded to them be applied to the current mobile money transfer providers. All banks should also go to court and demand that Safcom acquire a banking lincence. There is a case for it.

On the issue at hand, Equity doesn't even need mobile money transfer licensing. Its already a bank and I am sure it can use its already existing licence to pursue its ends.
Why does Equity need thin simcards anyway? I tend to think there was a bit of in-the-box thinking here.

My two cents. But I am all for clash of the titans.


Cecilia Nyawira, Advocate.



On Thursday, September 25, 2014 2:58 PM, Bernard Kioko via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
 


So I have been watching and reading the debate on thin-sim and the drama got me thinking about something….
 
Almost every Kenyan bank today is running a USSD mobile banking service. When you dial that number (eg *111#) ….and you enter your PIN to transact….. your PIN is transported between your phone and your bank in an open text (clear text aka no encryption) that can be read easily. I am sure both Safaricom and Equity know this for a fact. With this understanding, is the thin-sim card discussion really about the security for consumer or is it market-share politics? Can the two companies not find a secure work around if it really is about security? Imagine if CCK / Central Bank had refused MPESA citing consumer security because they could tell of the many mpesa fraudsters reported daily.
 
Further, can CCK not “order” safaricom to open their sim card (subject to commercial terms) for more SimToolkit applications in which case Equity Mobile Money services would sit right next to MPESA menu on that same sim card (and perhaps there would have been no need for a new MVNO – ok so am being too ambitious!).
 
Isn’t the big deal Equity’s desire to enter the Mobile Money market and for those following closely, you know the difference between “M-Shwari” and the now almost dead “M-Kesho”
 
What are your thoughts?
 


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