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Ecobank ATMs in Ghana go card-free with mobile SMS

February 27, 2014

Last week, mobile carrier service Airtel Money announced a tie-in with Visa that would give mobile money users in Kenya cardless access to cash at ATMs. This week, carrier MTN Ghana has made a similar announcement.

MTN has partnered with Ecobank for a cardless program that will serve more than 2 million mobile money subscribers in Ghana, a 4-traders report said. Users of the service would have access to 200 Ecobank ATMs across the country.

To use the service, MTN subscribers enter *511# on their phone. This generates a one-time token via text message. The customer simply enters the token number at the ATM in order to withdraw cash. 

"I urge other banks to emulate this initiative to enrich the user experience of customers," said MTN Ghana mobile money senior manager Eli Hini.