Mobile Money Security: A Holistic Approach
Abstract: Mobile money usage for transactions is steadily growing across Africa with the potential to
revolutionize the cash-dominant economy of this continent to be cashless. With the increased
use of mobile money services and number of business use cases designed each day, it is
imperative to design a holistic approach to mobile money security that will reduce security
exposures and prevent fraud, as some mobile money service providers have lost millions of
dollars to this growing threat. This research, therefore examines the measures that mobile
network operators providing mobile money services can employ to prevent fraud. The study
also discusses the mobile money users’ perception about the linkage between mobile phone
protection and security of the mobile money service on their phone.
The research was a case study of mobile money security in Ghana and used qualitative and
quantitative data collected through questionnaires and structured interviews of key staff of the mobile network operator (MNO). Some of the main findings of this research include the
general perception that there is no direct linkage between mobile phone protection and
mobile money security. It was further identified that one of the major causes of consumer
driven fraud is PIN sharing. In addressing mobile money fraud, it is suggested that the
service provider should give mobile money security tips to the users at least twice in a year
through short message service (SMS) to alert them of ways to enhance the security of their
mobile phones
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