Equity defies MPs on card use
What you need to know:
- Sources at Equity Bank confirmed the planned roll-out saying they have ordered the thin SIM cards and the consignment will be in Kenya “in a few days.”
- A rate card issued out by the firm shows that its pre-paid call rates to all networks will cost Sh4 per minute. Text messages will be charged at Sh1 each while data bundles will be priced at Sh4 per Mb.
- The lender was issued with a licence by Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) to operate mobile phone and money transfer services as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) through its subsidiary Finserve Ltd.
Equity Bank is set to start issuing the thin SIM card defying a parliamentary order to suspend the pilot roll-out pending independent assessment of the technology.
Taisys Technologies Co Ltd, the firm manufacturing the thin cards for the bank, confirmed this on Tuesday in a statement sent to media houses.
“Equity Bank customers can now enjoy funds transfer, micro-payments and other mobile financial services that are agnostic across mobile devices, including traditional basic-feature phones using Taisys’s ‘mBanking’ and ‘duoSIM,’” the statement read.
Sources at Equity Bank confirmed the planned roll-out saying they have ordered the thin SIM cards and the consignment will be in Kenya “in a few days.”
The lender was issued with a licence by Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) to operate mobile phone and money transfer services as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) through its subsidiary Finserve Ltd.
The roll-out process will be conducted on a pilot basis as directed earlier by CA and Central Bank of Kenya last month. The authority said it will advertise a tender for an independent firm to conduct a study on the thin SIM card during the piloting.
Equity has, however, started marking its mobile money brand in the market. Going by the name Equitel, the piloting kicked off last month using the normal SIM card.
RATE CARD
A rate card issued out by the firm shows that its pre-paid call rates to all networks will cost Sh4 per minute. Text messages will be charged at Sh1 each while data bundles will be priced at Sh4 per Mb. The money transfer is expected to cost one per cent of the transactional value capped at Sh25 for the highest.
However, Equity’s move could attract reprisal from parliament given its stopping order.
National Assembly committee on Energy, Information and Communication Technology wants all security concerns raised by rival Safaricom addressed before the roll-out.
Safaricom claims the technology will expose M-Pesa customers to fraud as the thin SIM card technology makes the parent chip susceptible to hacking.
MPs said they were ready to hire an independent expert to assess and report back on the safety of the card. CA has, however, called on Equity to go ahead and roll-out saying its mandate to regulate should not be questioned by other bodies since it is an independent regulator.
“We are an independent authority and it should be clear that this means there should not be interference by political, government or commercial interests,” director general Francis Wangusi said.
