MTN: Mobile Money partners with Ecobank

MTN and Ecobank have partnered to allow MTN Mobile Money users with Ecobank accounts to withdraw cash and transfer money between the accounts. The two said yesterday that the agreement extended to 12 African countries in which both operated. A pilot study was done in Ghana last month. The service will soon be launched in Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda and Zambia. MTN Mobile Money’s registered subscriber base grew 57.3 percent to 14.8 million users in 14 countries last year. Dobek Pater, an analyst at Africa Analysis, said MTN could use the partnership to extend its services across country borders. MTN rose 1.95 percent to close at R211.97 on the JSE yesterday. – Asha Speckman