CBL Forges Landmark Agreement for Seamless Mobile Money Transfers Across Networks

By Amos Harris

The Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) has signed a landmark agreement with Lonestar Cell/MTN Mobile Money and Orange Money, paving the way for customers to send and receive funds seamlessly between the two competing mobile money platforms. The agreement is anchored under the Inclusive Instant Payment System (IIPS), a crucial national initiative designed to enhance the speed, safety, and convenience of electronic payments across different financial networks in Liberia.

Under the arrangement, the Central Bank of Liberia will play a central regulatory and oversight role. This includes managing settlement accounts in both Liberian and U.S. dollars, conducting daily settlements, facilitating the transfer of funds between mobile money operators, and generating reports to ensure transparency and regulatory compliance.

Lonestar Cell/MTN Mobile Money and Orange Money, for their part, have committed to key operational duties. They are required to maintain settlement accounts at the Central Bank, ensure sufficient liquidity to support daily transactions, and provide necessary data to enable effective monitoring and compliance with regulatory standards.

ThitsaWorks, Liberia’s national payment switch operator, will manage the essential technological infrastructure linking the networks. Its responsibilities include handling daily transaction reconciliation and transmitting settlement instructions directly to the Central Bank.

The agreement is set to remain in force for an initial period of three years with the option for renewal. It outlines clear operational rules, performance benchmarks, and penalty clauses designed to guarantee efficiency, accountability, and service reliability.

This initiative is expected to significantly advance Liberia’s financial inclusion agenda by allowing mobile money users to transact instantly across networks, removing previous barriers. With the official launch of the system scheduled for December 16, Liberians are expected to benefit from faster, safer, and more secure mobile money transactions nationwide.