MMG says additional agent fees “not sanctioned” by the company

Many consumers across Guyana are increasingly voicing their dissatisfaction over an increase in fees being charged by agents across the country for transactions with electronic wallet operator, Mobile Money Guyana (MMG), including deposits, which previously were not subject to charges.

However, MMG says it has not authorised the additional fees that agents have been charging, and that its own fee structure has not changed in the past year. Asked whether the separate cash fees agents are now charging on top of standard transaction costs are sanctioned by the company, MMG was unequivocally stated it is not.

“This is not sanction[ed] by MMG. There is a fixed commission, no changes were made to these,” MMG noted in a response to questions sent.

However, the unauthorised charges have continued largely unaddressed, with consumers describing the fees as inconsistent, unclear and, in some cases, sprung on them without warning at the point of transaction.

“I was recharging my wallet to pay a utility bill. I handed the agent the cash and I was asked if I wanted to have the fees taken from the amount or if I would pay separately. The fee was $200. I have never deposited at this particular agent before. In the past, I had done withdrawals,” MMG customer, Gary Foo, recalled of his recent experience of being charged an additional fee for a transaction for the first time three weeks ago.

The company noted that it had not changed its fee structure for deposits and withdrawals in the past year, with the last changes being made three years ago, when it was sanctioned by the Bank of Guyana (BOG).

“This was done approximately three years ago and this is a direct proportion of approved fees by Bank of Guyana,” the company said.

Originally created as a subsidiary of GTT, MMG has been operating since 2013 as a regulated mobile money provider. It was launched as the country’s first electronic wallet and offers a secure platform for payments, shopping, money transfers, phone top-ups and more. The platform charges no monthly fees.

As Guyana’s only mobile money provider, MMG is regulated by Guyana’s central bank, the Bank of Guyana. However the company has faced challenges, with a report from the International Development Bank (IDB) noting that MMG only started becoming profitable in 2023, ten years after it started operations.

The company confirmed it does not currently plan to adjust the commission rates agents say are driving the practice, citing rising operating costs: “There is a rise in cost of operation for MMG. Last November MMG installed a new Mobile Finance System with upgraded technology and capabilities, however this comes at higher cost to support as well.”

According to several consumers the Guyana Times spoke with, the arbitrarily applied fees range from $100 to as much as $3,000, depending on the monetary value of the transaction. However, small agents are defending their decision to start charging their own fees, noting that the commissions paid by MMG are unviable.

“First of all, it’s your money you have to invest and the commission is low. The commissions on the services are very low. Customers would do transactions worth thousands and you don’t get much. For example, $60,000 and the agent’s commission may not even be $100, especially for GTT or One Communications services,” an agent noted.

“It’s unfair to the agents who basically provide all the cash. It’s like working for a boss you have to pay. Yes, it is their idea, their company and their app, but I think the commission should be raised.”

According to MMG, agents operate under a fixed commission structure that has not changed recently, and pushed back on agents’ characterisation of their earnings as negligible. According to the company, the most common transactions are bill payments and account top-ups, which carry agent commissions of approximately 42 per cent and 60 per cent, respectively.

In terms of charges to consumers, MMG customers are charged approximately $120 for most bill payments and money transfer, including merchants payments, with the exception of bills for MMG’s parent company, One Communications (formerly GTT), and adding credit balance to cell phones. Withdrawals incur fees ranging from $200 for amounts up to $2000 to one percentage of the withdrawal amount for amounts from $60,001 – $200,000. MMG does not make any of its fee structures public.

However in light of the current situation of complaints from consumers, the company noted that it will shortly be publishing the current fee schedule for deposits and withdrawals that consumers can reference.

For consumers with an account, the fees are automatically deducted from a customer’s wallet balance. To recharge their accounts, customers can make a deposit at agents, transfer money from local bank accounts, or deposit using Visa cards. Visa deposits incur a fee of 5%, while direct deposits through an agent were previously free of charge. However, agents have begun charging for these transactions. And customers are not happy.

“I paid $500 to put in $10,000, plus you are paying around $120 per bill,” commented MMG customer Rishma Persaud.

Persaud, a business owner, reports that her electronic wallet has become an integral part of her financial life, using it for everything from bill payments to money transfers and payments to her suppliers.

“All of those have a charge attached to it. I’ve been a customer since 2014, and honestly, I feel taken advantage of. If I go into the [MMG] branch itself, it takes a long time, so to save time I’m paying the upcharge from the agents, but I’m not happy about it. I pay all my bills through MMG, so it adds up to a lot in the end,” she shared.

Other customers believe MMG needs to do more to sensitise consumers about what the fees and charges are so as to avoid uncomfortable situations.

“The rules for the transactions are not clear. That type of thing undermines the agents. It’s very annoying and wastes time when you have one expectation and you turn up and have to pay. Now I don’t stop at any MMG location outside the city,” commented Dmitri, another MMG customer who has been with the service for over nine years.

Another customer, Merrano, is calling for clearer information from the company, recalling an incident in which he felt blindsided by a fee demand from an agent for a deposit he had previously made for free.

“This fee to deposit was a surprise and an added inconvenience. It’s something going on for a long time and we’ve just been accepting it, but the company needs to issue some sort of thing to the public. Suppose I didn’t have the money to pay for the deposit. I would’ve had to deposit less into my wallet to pay for the deposit,” he noted.

This is not the first time MMG has come under fire over its stance on fees. In November 2024, local mortgage firm the New Building Society (NBS) announced that it had terminated its mortgage payment facility with MMG over an “unsanctioned fee increase” that the institution deemed excessively burdensome for its customers.

After an initial agreement that allowed customers to make mortgage payments at a transaction fee of $120, MMG later proposed a substantial fee increase to 0.75% of the transaction value. NBS said the fee imposed undue financial strain on customers.

Through the app, and previously through its website, users are able to send and receive funds, pay bills, top up mobile credit, pay businesses and handle everyday transactions directly from a smartphone. Over the years, the number of merchants that consumers could pay using the app has continued to increase, with its reach among consumers also steadily growing.

According to a recent IDB report, as of 2024, MMG served about 80,000 subscribers and engaged more than 2,000 local agents across Guyana.

Following an IDB US$40 million loan to GTT in 2024, MMG was given a US$715,000 grant from IDB Lab to focus on growing its subscriber base and agent network in low-income, rural areas and building two new digital services.