Safaricom, Equity Bank thin Sim wars a distraction that should not drag on

Nairobi; Kenya: The dispute pitting Safaricom against Equity Bank over the latter’s plans to offer mobile money transfer services is unnecessary and should not be allowed to drag on. The controversy is a distraction at a time when both companies should be investing their time and money on improving their product and services.

At first glance, Safaricom seems to have a valid argument that Equity Bank’s technology is likely to threaten the security of its mobile money transactions. The global association of telecoms operators (GSMA) said it was not in a position to ascertain if individual overlay SIM cards implementation could gather any sensitive data and make it available to unauthorised persons.