Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Otto Gotlieb
Published on 2024-04-03 17:00:00
Telecom Namibia has confirmed the deactivation of 191,598 prepaid cards for mobile money clients who failed to register their SIM cards by March 31st. This has resulted in these clients being blocked from using cellphone banking services, including electronic wallet clients. The failure to register SIM cards has also raised concerns from the Bankers Association of Namibia, with the chief executive, Brian Katjaerua, warning that it could disproportionately impact rural communities that rely on electronic wallets for financial transactions.
According to Katjaerua, many Namibians use electronic wallets to send money, and while there may be some clients who did not have time to register their SIM cards, the majority have complied with the registration requirement. Telecom Namibia announced the deactivation of the unregistered SIM cards effective from April 1st, reducing the total active mobile subscribers to 250,812 out of 442,410.
As of February 29th, approximately 70% of cellphone users in Namibia had registered their SIM cards, representing about 1.6 million registered users out of a total of 2.5 million cellphone users in the country. The Communication Regulatory Authority of Namibia (Cran) has promised to update registration figures to improve compliance with the registration requirement.
The extension of the SIM card registration deadline from December 31st to March 31st aimed to allow more users to register, especially in rural areas. However, challenges such as long queues at registration points have hindered some users from completing the registration process, leading to their SIM cards being deactivated.
Efforts to encourage registration compliance have been made by banks and local authorities, urging citizens to register their SIM cards to continue using mobile banking services. However, some residents, especially in rural areas, have faced challenges in accessing registration points due to limited availability and long distances to travel.
The grace period for SIM card registration has been extended to the end of June, allowing users to register their cards to avoid forfeiture of their numbers. SIM cards that remain unregistered by the deadline will be deactivated and put back into the pool of available SIM cards for purchase by the public.
Overall, the deactivation of unregistered SIM cards in Namibia has highlighted the importance of complying with the registration requirement to ensure continued access to mobile banking services and electronic wallets. Efforts are being made to address challenges faced by users, especially in rural areas, to improve registration rates and prevent the loss of mobile connectivity for individuals who rely on these services for financial transactions.
Read the original article on The Namibian
