MTN Uganda mobile money users were left in shock after receiving messages indicating that some money had been deducted from their accounts without prior authorisation.
Several users took to social media to express their frustration over the deductions, which appeared to have been initiated by the telecom company without their consent.
NTV Uganda journalist Sudhir Byaruhanga shared screenshots on X (formerly Twitter) showing complaints from affected subscribers. In his post, he wrote: "Several subscribers of MTN are losing money in unclear circumstances. The operator keeps sending them messages of withdrawals they didn't initiate. @mtnug, please explain this!"
The message received by affected customers from MTN Mobile Money stated: "An adjustment has been made and 150 UGX has been withdrawn from your mobile money account..."
In response to the growing complaints, MTN Uganda addressed the issue on X, explaining the reason behind the deductions:
"Y'ello esteemed customer. Sorry about that. This is a recovery we have made because there was a transaction(s) recently made on this account that was never charged in real-time. All inconveniences caused are highly regretted. Thank you for choosing MTN Uganda. #MTNUGCARE>Geo"
However, many users were not satisfied with the explanation.
One person responded: "Can we as well have the details about the particular transactions so that we can verify, because without it, it can become a loophole for siphoning our money."
Writing in the Nile Post in November 2024, Jemima Kariuki-Njuguna, the Chief Product Officer at MTN Mobile Money, referenced interim results for the first nine months of 2024, highlighting significant growth.
According to the report, MTN MoMo’s user base grew by 13.2%, reaching 13.2 million users. Additionally, transaction volumes increased by 25.1%, with a total of 3 billion transactions valued at Shs114.5 trillion.