Mobile Money agents have been directed by the Bank of Uganda (BoU) to request a valid identity card (ID) from customers who perform transactions of more than one million shillings.
According to BoU, in a statement on April 19, 2024, the move is aimed at curbing the rise of fraudulent and scam transactions made by criminals.
“The Bank of Uganda observed a rise in the usage of mobile money platforms for online fraud and scams. Mobile money systems have occasionally been the target of cyber-crime carried out by agents working with criminals,” BoU stated.
“In compliance with Section 55(1)b of the National Payments Systems Act, 2020, and Regulation 7(h) of the National Payment Systems (Agents) Regulations, 2021, all financial transactions involving UGX 1,000,000 or more that are carried out at authorised agent locations and operator centres on digital financial service platforms must be completed after the holder’s identity has been verified using a valid national ID (for Ugandans), passport, refugee ID/attestation letter, or alien ID (for foreigners),” BoU added.
Phone theft and mobile money fraud are growing vices in Uganda that have left many in tears and financial ruin.
According to a report from the Criminal Investigative Directorate (CID), at least Shs 5 billion was shoddily sent to 877 AIRTEL SIM cards, while Shs 5.5 billion was sent to MTN SIM cards. A total of 4,143 cases of mobile phone theft were reported in 2021, compared to 4,043 cases reported in 2020, showing a 2.4 percent increase in phone thefts, which in turn increases mobile money fraud.