While the spate of killings might not have a huge dent on the transactions, there are worries that new innovations such as agent banking might suffer from the fear of holding large sums of money.
“Because I fear for my life, I now close latest at 7:30pm. And yet most customers come around these late evening hours but I have nothing to do…,” said one of the mobile money agents in Wandegeya, a city surburb, who declined to be named.
Patrick Mweheire, the chief executive of Stanbic bank, said as bankers they need to “have a conversation” about the security of the agents.
Whoever bears the burden of offering the security suffers an added cost. A number of security guards earn between Shs 200,000 and Shs 300,000 a month. To protect their lives, a number of mobile agents have resorted to getting colleagues pick the money hours before they close shop.
Aisha Nakabuye (not real names), an agent for all the banks who also owns a mobile money shop at Ham Shopping grounds in Nakivubo, asserts that while agency banking is profitable, it is also associated with many risks, most especially theft and counterfeit currency.
The insecurity has thrown up a more interesting solution – insurance. With the culture to sign up insurance policies still low, the suggestion of it becoming a solution to the loss of money is likely to draw mixed feelings. The insurance penetration in Uganda is still below one per cent, according to the available figures. This is one of the lowest in East Africa.
Some of the reasons behind the low insurance penetration is due to the fear of insurance companies not paying the policies.
“It [insurance] is also very expensive yet the profits made from the business are very dismal,” said Nakabuye. She said that it is Stanbic bank that has gone an extra mile to make insurance compulsory yet most agents have not embraced it fully.
The Kampala metropolitan police spokesperson Patrick Onyango was quoted by the media saying that if by any chance a bank agent can afford, they should hire trustworthy security guards. “Go to your area DPCs and request them to recommend to you trustworthy security guards,” Onyango advised.
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