ALMPO PRESS RELEASE 4th June 2013 Lagos, Nigeria Today at the Bon Voyage hotel in Victoria Island

nd Lagos, Nigerias licensed mobile payments operators publicly announced the launch of its collective The Association of Licensed Mobile Payment Operators (ALMPO). Established in 2012, ALMPO was created with a view to providing all licensed Mobile Payment Operators in Nigeria with a unified voice in shaping and growing the industry. ALMPO has positioned itself to work hand in hand with the Nigerian government and all telecom operators to develop industry standards and establish sustainable frameworks for the advancement of mobile financial services in Nigeria. Highlighting ALMPOs focus on securing the future of mobile payments in the country, Chairman of ALMPO, Mr. Dare Owolabi stated: We want to put the future of our mobile payments industry on a clear and firm footing and an independent body comprising of all licensed stakeholders is the logical first step. We will tackle the critical short-term projects but also work to create benefits that will benefit the industry long-term. Of course all this will involve working closely with the CBN, inputting on payments policy and promoting activities that facilitate co-operation among stakeholders in our various ecosystems. We believe that ALMPO will help create sustainable frameworks to aid the growth of our payments industry and help Nigeria to achieve efficiencies coming from reduced us of physical cash. ALMPO membership is open to all licensed mobile money operators in Nigeria as well as organizations with approvals in principle from the CBN. Current members include FETS, Fortis, Mkudi, Pagatech, Parkway, Paycom, Teasy, Eartholeum, Etranzact, GTBank, Ecobank, StanbicIBTC, Prida, UBA (U-MO), Zenith, VTNetwork, Cellulant, Zinternet, Chams. On the benefits of having an organized body that allows the industry members to share best practices and speak with one voice on important issues, Mr. Dipo Fatokun, CBN Director of Banking and Payments System, said: The outlook for mobile payments in Nigeria is extremely positive. Acceptance of mobile payments by the Nigerian public is growing, with over N64 billion in transactions reported by the licensed companies in less the than two full years of operation. In fact, half of those transactions happened between January and April this year, so we see that the growth is accelerating. Establishment of a body like ALMPO is critical in the early stages of any industrys growth and the Central Bank is in support of this move. By creating a forum for better collaboration between CBN, licensed mobile payments operators and other stakeholders, ALMPO will inspire greater confidence in alternative payment channels and thereby generate greater usage of mobile payments. This is a positive for Nigeria. With over 100 million mobile phone subscribers in a country where 70% of the population remain unbanked, global experts have named Nigeria as the next big mobile payments market. ALMPOs immediate focus is on ensuring that all CBN approved operators are among the associations active membership. There is also an ongoing drive to create awareness for ALMPO across the country and drive discourse with players in the finance and payments ecosystems. Ends

June, 2013