Good news comes in many forms but nothing beats a morning text alert that the bank account has been credited. Itâs the type of message that creates transformation of the mind body and soul. If that message arrives at 9AM when the mind is out of bed but the body still weak the two get in sync. A dreary face glows and suddenly you are greeted by three four five smiling faces. Itâs true, give a smile and youâll get seven back. Best still, the message makes your mind think of only one thing; how to get a withdrawal and get it fast.
Thatâs why I jumped out of bed this morning, covered my nakedness but it didn’t matter with what as long as it appeared relevant (HINT: I donât sleep naked) and rushed to the nearby bank agent. I had to rush for two reasons; to confirm if indeed the message wasn’t a hoax (thank goodness itâs not April 1st) and secondly to confirm if indeed I wasn’t dreaming.
âCan I withdraw from bankâ, I asked the already smiling attendant. âHow much?â â15,000â. âYou mayâ. Phone in hand, Open, USSD code, Withdraw, Agent Number, Amount, Confirm, Send. Within seconds she received the confirmation message then she asked, âID?â
âOh, sorry, I forgot, was in such a hurryâ. âSorry you have to produce an ID cardâ, she was no longer smiling. I explained how I was excited, how I jumped out of bed, how I didn’t think of an ID, but she could hear none of it. Then I asked, âwhat if I came with the ATM card, would you still need an ID?â âYes.â âBut ATM machines donât need an ID?â âThey are not humanâ. âDamnâ, I murmured, went back home, took my ATM card, went to town, and withdrew from an ATM point without producing any ID.
I donât blame her though. If I were to go to a bank branch carrying my ATM card, cell phone, and be able to prove to the teller that I indeed is the owner of the account by verifying my signature, the teller wonât still allow me to withdraw from the counter.
My question is, what are the odds that someone has my ATM card, has my cell phone number, and knows my cell phone lock PIN and mobile banking PIN and can reproduce my signature? If IDs are that critical for withdrawals, how come there are no ID scans at ATM withdrawal points?
Post Bank, the true paperless bank in Kenya, has replaced the need to sign any documents to allowing account holders input their PINs instead. However, when withdrawing over the counter, whether the amount to be withdrawn is equal to the amount allowable at the ATM points, they still require customers to produce identification documents; it doesn’t matter whether you have all other relevant documents to prove that you are you.
M-PESA is notorious in this. I have the phone; I have the PIN, they still need an ID. No, they donât require one to produce an ID if the withdrawal is via one of the over 1000 ATM points they have been busy promoting in recent years.
What am I saying? Isn’t my experience supposed to mean that Banks and their ilk do not trust the personal identification credentials they have provide for mobile, Internet and ATM banking? Aren’t they saying that any transactions carried out without production of an ID document means such transactions are carried out at customers’ own peril? Whatever logic it is that they are using for refusing mobile or ATM PIN verification process for over the counter withdrawals, I find such logic irrational.
Not just with having an ID, but also having someone scribble, a (meaningless) signature in a logbook that has a record of your transaction – Safaricom, and other mobile operators are going an extra step to show that they are on par with banks in terms of Know Your Customer verification. It also pre-empts issues around KYC, or fraud, or money laundering – and they have evidence that you transacted that can be produced in court
Transactions stored in their networks should suffice as evidence in court. We have registered lines (KYC) and a law that recognises electronic evidence.
I am an ardent user of Safaricom’s M-PESA service and I simply can’t recall when I last used my ID card to transact via the M-PESA agents. They (the agents) are only interested in the business and what they stand to gain in the transactions. Security is their second agenda, and so are the banks.
I was at Namanga border the other day. Mpesa transactions there are the funniest. The Waria sits on a stone without even a booth. You transact without hassle. You either give him cash and he puts in his pocket or if you are withdrawing he gets it from the pocket too. The guy doesn’t even have those books for writing details. Once done he asks “Imeingia” and that’s all.
Evidence shown to a judge needs to be original, they may not accept copies or electronic stuff. No matter what the law says, you have to present a strong documentary case – such as the mpesa book