We live in a technological age, where technology has made the world a global village and everything is going digital. To become a mobile money agent turns out to be the order of the day since the digital world also applies to the finance world.
People desire convenience, speed and wider choices on how they manage and carry out their financial transactions and payment and mobile money emerged as the perfect solution to deal with this issue. It has reduced dependency on cash and it has provided convenience at which customers can have access to banking services.
There has been a rise in the use of mobile money in the past few years due to its easy accessibility, the convenience it provides and also the fact that banks and other financial institutions are not able to meet up with the vast needs of the large number of people who need to carry out a financial transaction in a day.
Let’s have a little understanding of what mobile money is before showing the steps on how to become a mobile money agent.
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What Is Mobile Money?
Mobile money can simply be defined as a payment service that functions under financial regulation and this payment service is performed with the use of a mobile phone. Here, users no longer depend on cash, cheques or credit cards to make payment possible, as payment for a wide array of goods and services is being made possible with the use of a mobile phone.
The mobile money initiative is the Government of Nigeria’s way of fostering ease in financial service by using these platforms to make financial services available to every customer in the country regardless of their location and the presence of banks or any financial institution in the community.
Who Is A Mobile Money Agent?
Mobile money agent(s) is or are people who make financial transactions on behalf of customers to the banks. This implies that they serve as middlemen in the transaction process and they make a profit by getting a commission for every transaction they successfully carry out.
This person must be approved by a licensed financial institution to render mobile money services such as bill payments to customers, mobile phone airtime service, fund transfers, cash in and cash-out transactions etc. These mobile money agents serve as a third party acting on behalf of a mobile money service provider to deal directly with customers.
NOTE: A person only becomes a mobile money agent when he decides to carry out an online transaction for people to make a profit. This is so because with the emergence of mobile money, everyone can carry out transactions using their mobile phone but it doesn’t imply that they are mobile money agents.
Who Are Mobile Money Operators?
Mobile money operators in Nigeria are simply mobile money facilitators in the country. They have licensed service providers and they render financial services to customers through the use of mobile phones.
Categories Of A Mobile Money Platform
The mobile money platform is divided into two major groups.
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Commercial Bank Affiliated Agents
This group of agents are directly involved with a bank or groups of banks or even another approved organization but the bank is still the lead initiator .e.g UBA mobile money company in partnership with MTN. To become a bank-affiliated money agent simply log into the bank website, find out their application requirements and apply.
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Inter-Institutional Mobile Money Agents
This group of people are known as non-bank mobile money agents. This simply means that these organizations are permitted to offer banking services but they must be recognized and approved by the central bank of Nigeria. This group provides more freedom to render services from different institutions and most mobile money agents prefer this category because it offers them more profits.
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Steps Required To Become A Mobile Agent
Before one can become a mobile money agent there are steps to be taken for its actualization. Below are four basic steps to take.
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Choose A Bank
To become a mobile agent you need to go through a bank or an organization that is approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria. One thing to note is that all banks and organizations have different conditions for their mobile money agent.
Some require specific daily or weekly target transactions while others have certain criteria for choosing agents like, you need a kiosk to run your business. You need to make intensive research to know the conditions offered by the bank and choose the one that fits your need.
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Choose A Location
Knowing your point of location is also a key point to note in becoming a mobile money agent, this is necessary because most banks or organizations’ major prerequisite in becoming their mobile agent is that you must have a point of sale.
Location is one factor that determines how one succeeds in this business, you must ensure that your point of location has a lot of foot traffic and also it shouldn’t be near any major financial institutions as these can turn out to be your direct competitor.
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Choose The Service You Will Render
One primary service rendered by mobile money agents is to perform various banking transactions for people which would have otherwise been done at the bank. These services include bill payments and money transfers. However you could expand the services you render by adding airtime recharge, government levies etc. And one thing you should take into account is that the more service you render the more people that tend to patronize you but you need to be certain that you are qualified to render those services.
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Get The Pieces Of Equipment Required
Once you have been given approval by the bank or organization as a mobile money agent and you have gotten your shop installed, you will need to purchase the pieces of equipment needed and the most interesting part about being a mobile agent is that it‘s not capital or equipment-intensive business, this simply means that large capital is not needed to set it up and it doesn’t need a lot of equipment, you just need a steady internet connection and a power source.
Once you have chosen the right location for your business and gotten everything needed to start it up then you can commence business operation.
List Of CBN Licensed Mobile Money Operators In Nigeria
The following are the list of some licenced money operator in Nigeria.
- Paga Mobile
- First Bank’s Firstmonie
- Mtn’s Momo
- Kudi Mobile
- Opay ( Paycom Nigeria Limited)
- Polaris Supepadi
- Palmpay
- Qikqik
- Pocketmonie
- U-Mo
- Eazymoney
- Google Wallet
- GTbank Mobile Money
- Stanbic Ibtc Mobile Money
- Ecobank Mobile Money
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How To Become A Mobile Money Agent Under Some Licenced Mobile Money Operators In Nigeria
The procedures to become a mobile money agent depend on the platform one wants to make use of as each platform differs from the other.
Here are some platforms and the process required to become a money agent with them.
How To Become A GTbank Mobile Money Agent
The GT mobile agent is operated and owned by the GT Bank. For you to become a mobile money agent at GTbank, you must ensure you have access to the GT App. It enables its users to carry out a vast number of online operations like the purchase of data and airtime, cash inflow and outflow, utility bill payments and many others.
Requirements
- A valid passport.
- A valid voter’s card or any valid ID.
Steps
- Visit their website at www.gtbank.com/uploads/downloadforms, and fill and submit the application form. Then dial *156#. After which you will receive a welcome message then do the following.
- Select ID type.
- Choose send.
- Input your ID number 1234.
- Choose a pin code e.g 986433.
- You can begin a transaction using *156#.
How To Become A Kudi Mobile Money Agent
Kudi mobile is one of the most prominent mobile money companies in Nigeria and it is another product of the current trends of mobile money. It was founded in 2016 by Pelumi Aboluwarin and Yinka Adewale, some of the services it provides are cash transactions, paying bills e.t.c.
Requirements
- Your Bank verification number (BVN).
- Kudi mobile App.
- National ID or any valid ID.
- Email address.
- Your smartphone and a mobile phone number.
Steps
- Download the kudi mobile app on the google play store.
- Register on the mobile app by filling out the registration form.
- Input your BVN and phone number and a verification code ( OTP code) will be sent to the mobile phone number.
- After verification, you will be directed to the next page.
- Fill in your details as it is shown in your BVN and ensure that all entries are correct e.g first name, surname, date of birth, and gender.
- Upload a photo on the next page.
- Fill in all the necessary information and then tick the small box indicating that you have accepted all kudi’s terms and conditions then provide your valid ID before finally completing the whole process.
- Log into your account with the pieces of information you provided to ensure that your account is activated.
- Fund your wallet and start transacting with the mobile app.
How To Become A UBA Mobile Moni Agents
UBA Mobile Money ’Moni’ agents can perform the following services on the platform; Account Opening, Cash Deposit, Cash Withdrawal and Transfers.
You must have an existing business to become a UBA Moni agent simply visit the nearest UBA branch to speak to a representative about your interest in becoming a UBA moni agent.
Requirements
- A valid means of identification e.g National ID or Voter’s card.
- A recent Utility bill Payment.
- A UBA active account.
- Biometric Verification Number (BVN).
Steps
- Download the UBA moni agent onboarding form.
- Fill in all the details in the form.
- Submit the form at any UBA branch closest to you.
How To Become A MTN MoMo Agent
MTN MoMo commenced operation on September 19, 2019. It is a mobile payment platform that is owned and introduced by MTN Telecommunication. MoMo derived its term from the word Mobile Money. One core function that it performs is to enable subscribers or users to send, save and receive money through their mobile phones and also could purchase airtime and data using MoMo.
Requirement
- You must have a valid means of identification.
- You must have a working capital of at least N20,000.
Steps
- Visit the nearest MTN outlet to pick up the form and fill in the details.
- Download the application form online and submit it.
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How To Become A Firstmonie Agent
The Firstmonie agent network is operated and owned by the First bank and the Firstmonie app is available on the Apple store and Playstore by First Bank. As a FirstMonie agent, you can be able to perform activities such as depositing money, withdrawing money from any bank, paying bills and purchasing airtime.
Requirements
- You must have been engaged in commercial activity for a minimum of 12 months.
- You must have a physical permanent structure.
- You must have a minimum working capital of N50,000( For unregistered businesses and N250,000 for registered businesses).
Steps
- Visit any First bank of Nigeria ( FBN) branch to tender your interest in being an agent.
How To Become A Paga Mobile Money Agent
Paga is one of the popular mobile money platforms in Nigeria. It’s a mobile money company that allows its users to transfer funds and make payments through their smartphones it was created by Tayo Oviosu in 2009 to revolutionize the state of cash transactions in the country and it began operation in the year 2011.
This mobile money service currently has 17 million customers and 27 thousand agents all over the country.
Paga agents are individuals in direct contact with the community.
Requirements And Steps
- Visit the agent page and input your phone number.
- Fill out the agent interest form on the next page and the details required for the ‘agent interest’ form include first name, surname and contact.
- Click ‘submit’ after completing the form.
- A local Paga agent will reach out to you to guide you on how to further your application process.
How To Become A Opay(Paycom Nigeria Limited) Agent
Opay is a multi-business initiative established by Opera Group in 2018. And as we all know Opera is one of the most popular browsers in Nigeria.
Currently, Opay has a network of 300,000 agents and over 5 million registered app users. Opay’s growing list of services puts them in a front position to take over the world of mobile money.
Requirements
- Passport photograph, utility bill (e.g NEPA bill), viable means of identification, Driver’s license, Voter’s card, National ID).
- An internet-enabled and fully functional smartphone.
- Biometric Verification Number (BVN).
Steps
- Download and install Opay App on your smartphone. Apple store for IOS and Play store for Andriod).
- Use an active number to register and complete the installation.
- Initiate a chat with the support team and request an agent registration form.
- Fill out the form as required and provide all the necessary documentation.
What Are The Benefits Of Using Mobile Money Operators In Nigeria?
1) They are convenient, flexible and easy to use.
2) Mobile money guarantees security.
3) They can be easily accessible anywhere as long as there is a mobile phone signal.
4) It’s very affordable to start up.
5) Mobile money transactions are fast.
6) Mobile money saves you time and energy that would have been spent if you go to a bank.
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Conclusion
With the emergence and dominance of mobile money operators in Nigeria has made things easier and provided convenience in the everyday financial life of an average citizen as you do not need to go to the bank to perform most transactions again as you can make most financial transactions from the comfort of your mobile phone and without an internet connection.
There are various mobile money platforms you can sign up for. This business is fast becoming one of the most booming and lucrative businesses in Nigeria. It’s one of the businesses where you can begin immediately as it does not require a large capital intensive and it doesn’t require a long protocol to do so.
