Equity, Safaricom lobby MPs on thin-SIM

Equity Bank and Safaricom took their battle for mobile banking to Parliament on Friday, with each defending their positions vigorously with a view to winning the MPs’ backing.

Equity defended its planned roll-out of the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) services, even as Safaricom called for an independent test of the thin-SIM technology that the lender intends to use to ensure security of its mobile money and banking transactions.

Equity Bank’s chief executive officer James Mwangi said the thin-SIM to be embedded on the main SIM card will never be live or work simultaneously at any time with the primary SIM card, thereby posing no risk of intercepting PINs; SMSs or distorting subscribers’ information as alleged.

READ: Equity Bank’s thin SIM card plan pegged on ‘quality’ audit

However, the Safaricom head of regulatory services Stephen Chege and the head of product services Kenneth Okwero said the technology will affect Kenyans and other mobile phone subscribers if thin SIMs are overlaid on users’ primary SIM cards.

“Safaricom welcomes competition within the ICT industry. We have raised concerns about the particular technology to be used by Equity Bank to launch the service,” Mr Chege said when Safaricom appeared before the committee chaired by Jamleck Kamau on Friday.

Mr Chege said when Safaricom became aware of the technology, it put the thin SIM in its lab and tested to see how it affects communication between the phone and the original SIM.

“From testing, we found out that it is a bridge between what you type in your phone and the main SIM. Thin SIM is capable of seeing through any transaction,” he said. He said the thin SIM technology may compromise its M-Pesa services.