By ESWIN PLESIO
TELIKOM Limited, through its business arm Telikom Financial Services Limited, has received a Payment Service Provider Licence from the Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG), paving the way for the company to expand digital payments and financial inclusion across the country.
BPNG Governor Elizabeth Genia formally presented the licence during a ceremony today attended by Minister for State-Owned Enterprises William Duma, Kumul Consolidated Holdings chairman Moses Maladina, Telikom Financial Services chairman Ambassador Gabriel Pepson, Telikom chief executive officer Amos Tepi and other senior officials.
Mr Tepi said the licence marked an important step in Telikom’s efforts to provide secure and compliant financial technology services using its nationwide telecommunications network.
He said the digital wallet would enable farmers, fishermen, small businesses, informal traders and workers across industries to make payments and transfer money more efficiently.
“Our payment system will enable the coffee grower, the cocoa and copra producer, the vanilla farmer, the oil palm block holder, the fisherman, workers in mining, gas and petroleum, the SME operator, the street vendor, the vegetable grower at the local market — and the list goes on,” Mr Tepi said.
He said the service would reduce the reliance on cash and make it easier for people in remote areas to move money.
“Money that once took days and long travel to move will move in seconds, from a mobile phone, wherever a Telikom signal reaches,” he said.
Mr Tepi said the platform had been designed to meet regulatory requirements and would support the Government’s financial inclusion objectives under the Medium Term Development Plan IV, including its target of connecting 80 per cent of the population by 2027.
Ms Genia described the licence as an important milestone for Telikom Financial Services and the country’s payment sector as digital payments and mobile financial services become increasingly important to everyday economic activity.
“The Bank welcomes that development. We want to see innovation in our financial system. We also want to see greater competition,” she said.
She said Telikom’s extensive network, including its reach into rural and remote communities, provided an opportunity to extend financial services to people traditionally underserved by conventional banking networks.
However, Ms Genia stressed that the licence came with significant responsibilities, particularly in governance, risk management, customer protection and regulatory compliance.
“A licence is not simply a certificate to operate. It carries an ongoing responsibility to customers, to the regulator and to the integrity of the financial system,” she said.
Mr Tepi said the licensing process had been lengthy and rigorous but was necessary to ensure customers could have confidence in the service.
Ms Genia also warned that anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing requirements would be “non-negotiable” as Telikom Financial Services begins operations.
She said BPNG would continue working with the company to ensure innovation, competition and financial inclusion were supported by strong regulatory standards.