MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank of Uganda Issues Mobile Money Guidelines Intended to Prevent Fraud, Increase Efficiency

The Bank of Uganda (BoU), the country’s central bank, has issued a set of mobile money guidelines aimed at regulating mobile money services in the country [1]. The guidelines are intended to limit fraud and increase efficiency of the services in light of reports of scams and money laundering through the use of these services. Under the guidelines, a mobile money service provider must be registered as a limited liability company and must be licensed with BoU or partner with a BoU-licensed financial institution. In order to discourage money laundering or other illegal money transfers, service providers will have to keep track of every transaction and have their accounts available for audits by BoU. The guidelines also provide specific directions to mobile money agents regarding their roles and responsibilities [2].

As of 2013, the total number of mobile money customers in Uganda was 12.1 million, and the total value of mobile money transactions was UGX 15 trillion (USD 6 billion) [3].

As of June 2012, BoU reported total assets of UGX 14.2 trillion (USD 5.7 billion).

By Nisha Koul, Research Associate

About Bank of Uganda (BoU): Bank of Uganda, established in 1966 by an act of parliament, is Uganda’s central bank. It is mandated to supervise financial institutions in the country including commercial banks and non-bank financial institutions such as forex bureaus, money remitters, deposit-taking microfinance institutions and microcredit institutions. As of June 2012, BoU reported total assets of UGX 14.2 trillion (USD 5.7 billion).

Sources and Additional Resources:

[1] Bank of Uganda, “Bank of Uganda Issues Mobile Money Guidelines,” https://www.bou.or.ug/bou/media/statements/Mobile_Money_Guidelines_2013.html

[2] Bank of Uganda, “Mobile Money Guidelines,” https://www.bou.or.ug/opencms/bou/bou-downloads/Financial_Inclusion/Mobile-Money-Guidelines-2013.pdf

[3] The East African, “New BoU rules to cut fraud in mobile money,” http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/business/New-BoU-rules-to-cut-fraud-in-mobile-money/-/2560/2075548/-/mv563oz/-/index.html

All Africa, “Uganda: Tales of Mobile Money Woes,” http://allafrica.com/stories/201401210160.html?viewall=1

MicroCapital Story, January 8, 2013, “Amid Mobile Money Fraud, Service Providers Deemed Uncooperative, Bank of Uganda Seeks to “Take Over” Industry,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-amid-mobile-money-fraud-service-providers-deemed-uncooperative-bank-of-uganda-seeks-to-take-over-industry/

MicroCapital Story, February 28, 2012, “In Kenya, Fraud Cases Embarrass Mobile Money Industry,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-in-kenya-fraud-cases-embarrass-mobile-money-industry/#more-17247

MicroCapital Universe Profile, Bank of Uganda, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Bank+of+Uganda+%28BoU%29

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