1. Presented by CATHERINE KANBGAI FROM SIERRA LEONE
Artifact For the GSMA Capacity building Course on Mobile Money and Financial Inclusion on the Topic
KEY REGULATORY PRINCIPLES: DISTRIBUTION AND OUTDOURCING OF MOBILE MONEY AGENTS IN SIERRA LEONE
Presented by CATHERINE KANBGAI FROM SIERRA LEONE

2. INTRODUCTION
Mobile money is gaining acceptance in the country and therefore needs effective oversight and monitoring.
There are currently 206,143 active registered mobile money users with 3,910 agents across the country.
On average, the service providers conducted 1,897,621 transactions whilst the value of transaction stood at Le229.77bn as at end July, 2017

3. ROLE OF MOBILE MONEY AGENTS
Customer Education
Liquidity Management
Cash in and cash out transaction of customers
Registration of new customers
Marketing of credit, savings and insurance products offered and underwritten by licensed financial institutions
Attend to customer queries and complaints

4. Agents Due Diligent in Sierra Leone
The current guidelines require that every agent has to be a registered business with a physical address.
Principal should have clear, well-documented policies and procedures for Agent Due Diligence (ADD) and ensure that their agency business is at all times in compliance.
ADD should clearly specify roles and responsibilities of various functions and individuals operating within the principal’s role with respect to agent management and supervision.
Agents Due Diligence document should contain:
New agent onboarding procedures
Initial due diligence
Regular due diligence checks to be performed at specified intervals

5. Agent Management and Supervision
Bank of Sierra Leone in collaboration with Mobile money financial service providers should ensure Agent operational policies and procedures, especially those related to enforcing compliance by agents and master-agents are met.
NATCOM and the BSL should ensure that Policy document on how principal will address risk such as overselling or overcharging by the agents are implemented.
Regulators must ensure Contingency plan to mitigate significant disruption, discontinuity, or gap in agent or master agent’s function, particularly for high-risk areas are in place.

6. Risk Associated with Mobile Money Agent in Sierra Leone
Risk of overselling or overcharging by the agents
AML/CFT policies and procedures as they relate to agency business
Contingency plan to mitigate significant disruption, discontinuity, or gap in agent or master agent’s function, particularly for high-risk areas
Liquidity Risk

7. CONCLUSION
The economy of Sierra Leone is largely informal, and a huge proportion of the adult population do not have bank account. Agents distribution nationwide will promote access to finance and financial inclusion in the country