MTN Cameroon's mobile money service, MTN MoMo, has been certified by the GSMA following an evaluation of the reliability of the service in early December 2019.

The company becomes the first mobile operator in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central African States (CEMAC) to secure the certification.

Of over 272 operators across the world, only 12 have so far received the certification, and MTN Cameroon is the fourth operator within the MTN Group to be certified after Côte d'Ivoire, Uganda, and Ghana.

According to GSMA, the certification recognises MTN Cameroon as an operator "that delivers secure, transparent and durable financial services; and an organisation that has the capacity to protect the rights of its customers and fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism."

Alain Claude Nono, Director of MTN MoMo said: "Mobile money users in Cameroon can rest assured of the capacity of MTN to secure their transactions, educate them on the use of the products and services that it puts at their disposal and communicate transparently on the tariffs for various services to ensure optimal quality of service."

Hendrik Kasteel, chief executive officer of MTN Cameroon, added, "With the GSMA Mobile Money certification, MTN Cameroon is more excited about the prospects of the future, and committed to continually render payment via mobile money even simpler, more affordable and tailored to the needs of users to whom we give more power, more freedom, simplicity and security."

MTN MoMo was launched in August 2010 and is understood to have over eight million registered subscribers, with more than 70,000 withdrawal points across the country's ten administrative regions.

The service competes with Orange Money managed by Orange Cameroun, while Nexttel is planning the launch of its own mobile money service - Possa.