Edith, <br><br>Why do you find it so surprising that you can't send an M-PESA payment if you don't have an M-PESA account? Can you make Zap payments without having a Zap account? <br><br>In a bank, you can pay cash into someone's account without having a bank account, but you need to go to that person's bank, and you can't make a bank transfer either without having an account yourself. <br>
<br>Also, the need to register before you make any mobile money payments is, as far as I know, a banking sector requirement imposed by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), the Know Your Customer (KYC) rules to combat money laundering etc.<br>
<br>That you need an M-PESA-enabled SIM card is an old story - that's been communicated since the beginning of the service, I think, even if it's of course it's regrettable that the agent you visited didn't have one. <br>
<br>Many regards,<br>Andrea <br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On 23 August 2010 22:28, Edith Adera <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:eadera@idrc.or.ke">eadera@idrc.or.ke</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">There's need for consumer issues to be taken VERY seriously in the Kenyan Telecommunication market. I believe CCK is listening and
this should not be allowed to happen to any Kenyan consumer.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">As a non-user of money transfer services (I'm a proxy user), I decided to try the Mpesa service today as I did not have a 3rd party proxy to undertake
the transaction on my behalf as I usually do. The last I tried to register for the service, I was informed that I had an old generation SIM card and needed to replace it yet the agent did not have the replacement SIMs. I was directed to follow a convoluted
process of getting the replacement SIM, which I did not have the time for at that point.</span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Today, I was rudely informed that as a non registered user I cannot send money by Mpesa (Prestige service provider) - never mind that I have a
very active Safaricom line. This puzzled me as in the banking sector, you can always bank money into any account at a bank in which you're not a "member".
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">So in search for an answer to this issue, I decided to call a Safaricom Officer (Ms Bernice - department that issues Short Codes) to get some assistance.
I called her on my Zain line. As soon as she picked the call, she was very cold and retorted "for starters, you have called me from the wrong network - meaning from Zain - and secondly, you cannot send money if you are not a registered user".</span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">My issue as a consumer is - why should I be rebuked for using my Zain line to call Safaricom? Is it a Safaricom policy that no one should call
them using a Zain line or lines from other network providers? what does the CCK regulations say about such issues? My little telecommunication background tells me that the "consumer is king" and that a consumer must exercise their "right of choice" in a competitive
market. why should I be dictated to what network I MUST USE or NOT use to make calls? Is this a reflection of the interconnection issues that are currently hitting media headlines?</span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">I have taken this issue very seriously and demand an apology and response from Safaricom. I believe CCK will take appropriate action to ensure
that this is not the<i> modus operandi</i> in the Kenyan telecommunication market.</span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Edith</span></p>
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