In Togo, electronic money transactions through the Money Flooz service, provided by telecommunications operator Moov Africa Togo, have been severely disrupted for over five days due to a technical incident, leaving customers in a state of inconvenience. The incident has disrupted various financial transactions, including money transfers within the country, electricity meter top-ups (Cash Power), mobile credit purchases, and internet package subscriptions. Furthermore, international transfers, particularly from Cote d’Ivoire, have also been affected, leading to grievances from subscribers.
Moov Africa Togo, in a statement, expressed their apologies to their subscribers for any inconvenience caused by this technical incident, but the exact nature of the problem was not disclosed at this time. Moov Money Flooz, a service that allows subscribers to perform financial transactions through their mobile phones, is gradually returning to normal. However, this prolonged service disruption, along with a lack of information on when it would be fully restored, has left many customers frustrated.
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To mitigate the impact of the disruption, Moov Africa Togo has provided instructions for subscribers to reset their security codes, especially for those who have already received the Flooz message with their default security code. They’ve also encouraged subscribers who haven’t received a message to contact customer service or visit a Moov Africa branch for assistance. Updating security codes is seen as a crucial step to enhance transaction security and protect users from unauthorized access to their accounts.
Despite Moov Africa Togo’s efforts to resolve the situation, the General Directorate of the Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority (ARCEP) has initiated a sanction procedure against the operator. According to ARCEP, Moov Africa Togo failed to comply with its obligations, as stipulated by Article 27.1 and Article 37.4 of its specifications. Article 27.1 requires the operator to ensure the continuous availability of authorized services and the adaptation of means. Article 37.4 mandates the operator to inform customers about the nature of the problem and the estimated time for service restoration in case of disruptions. ARCEP’s Decision №068/ARCEP/DG/21 of March 11, 2021, also highlights the necessity for operators to notify users when service incidents exceed two hours.
From October 19 to October 24, 2023, Moov Africa Togo’s Mobile Money service was completely unavailable nationwide, and the operator failed to send automated incident notification messages to subscribers, which has raised concerns about the operator’s responsibility in ensuring continuous service availability.
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The ARCEP has emphasized the vital importance of mobile financial services in the daily lives of Togo’s population and has called on all operators to adhere to their obligations regarding the continuous availability of their services, especially Mobile Money services. The prolonged unavailability, coupled with the lack of information on service restoration, is seen as a potential threat to the well-being of the people of Togo who rely on these services for various financial transactions. The sanction procedure initiated by ARCEP will likely have legal and financial implications for Moov Africa Togo, raising questions about the need for increased regulatory oversight in the country’s telecommunications and mobile financial services sector.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard