Money transfer needs regulation

It has been argued that mobile money transfer will force the banks to rethink their strategies. Well, most of them stopped fighting M-PESA and incorporated it in their offerings, which is a good thing.

M-PESA allows people to send money amounting to 50,000 Kenyan shillings everyday, which saves the hassles of going to banks.

But mobile money transfer poses other challenges in regulation. What happens when one accidentally transfers huge amounts of money to a wrong number and the recipient hurriedly withdraws?

In such a case, does the aggrieved party ask for help from Safaricom in getting back the money or the police? In the case of the police, which law does one follow, civil or criminal?

In another scenario, someone may use your details and personal identification number and even identity card to withdraw. People are known not to be very careful with PINs, mainly assigning their date or year of birth as the PIN, which makes it easier for crooks to get the money.

There could be other incidences involving the mobile transfer of cash, which as time goes by, will require action from law enforcement agencies.