House team halts Equity Bank's thin SIM venture

National Assembly Energy Committee members. [PHOTO:BONIFACE OKENDO]

NAIROBI, KENYA: The battle between Safaricom and Equity Bank over the control of the country’s lucrative mobile money market boiled over after a committee of the National Assembly directed the industry regulator to halt the roll-out of the thin SIM card technology.

The House committee on Energy and Communication has formed an 11-member committee led by Rarieda MP Nicholas Gumbo to supervise investigations into the technology following fears expressed by Safaricom that the roll-out could expose customers’ private data to illegal access.