NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Imposing any form of tax on mobile money transactions will be a major drawback to the financial inclusion agenda championed by government, Akinwale Goodluck, Head of sub Saharan Africa at GSMA, the global body that represents the interest of mobile operators worldwide, has said.

“I am very concerned anytime there is any indication that government or anybody wants to take any step that may inhibit the growth of mobile money. When you tax mobile money, you are taxing the people who are probably the most excluded in mainstream financial service.

These are people who have found a financial niche in mobile money and taxing it will raise the cost of such a service. There is a strong likelihood that this will be a disincentive for people to use mobile money and it could reduce mobile money adoption and increase the divide in terms of financial inclusion,” he told the B&FT at the GSMA Mobile 360 Series West Africa which came off in Abidjan last week.

Photo courtesy of Simon Berry.