Management of MTN Cameroon has rubbished claims the company intends to shut down its MTN Mobile Money (MoMo) service.

The telco was responding to speculation on social media and messaging platforms, including one post that called on MTN MoMO subscribers in Cameroon to withdraw cash because of the imminent shutdown of the service due to xenophobic-related violence.

Subscribers are understood to have carried out panic withdrawals in major cities since the message went viral.

MTN Cameroon officials said the rumours are baseless because the MTN MoMo service will not be affected or disrupted by events in a third-party country.

"MTN Mobile Money is not a centralised service managed from another country; the functioning and availability of MTN MoMo rely entirely on MTN Cameroon with the support of local partner banks wherein the funds of subscribers are secured," the telecoms company noted in a public notice.

Alain Claude Nono, Director of MTN Mobile Money at MTN Cameroon said the rumour has not affected their business but "we want to reassure all our customers that anything related to such a rumour is totally wrong and without any basis."

The Director added the company will expand the service to Cameroon's ten regions.

MTN MoMo was rolled out in 2009 and now counts over eight million registered subscribers - the largest in the country.

The service is closely rivalled by Orange Money managed by Orange Cameroun, while Nexttel is planning to begin its own mobile money service – Possa.