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Mogadishu, Somalia (AHN) – Al Qaeda-inspired group Al Shabaab on Sunday imposed a ban on Zaad Service, a mobile banking service recently launched by Hormuud, Golis and Telesom telecommunications companies in Somalia.

Zaad allows customers to use their mobile phones for money transfers, purchases, payment of bills, and airtime recharges.

“Those telecommunications companies must stop Zaad Service mobile banking service in three months,” the insurgent group said in a statement.

“Hormuud Telecom in southern Somalia, Golis Telecom in Somalia’s semi-autonomous region of Puntland and Telesom Company in the break away republic of Somaliland had been given that chance to save people’s money,” it said.

The press release said a lengthy investigation by Al Shabaab found that Zaad Service poses a great hazard to the economy of Somalis and accused an unnamed company in United States of being behind the service. The group said the unnamed service wanted to take over the economy of the world by using MMT (Mobile Money Transfer). Al Shabaab argued that use of Somali shillings declined in recent moths because of the mobile service.

Thousands of Somalis have been using Zaad since its launch in February.

Banks barely existed in this war-torn African nation a decade ago. Now, Somali residents can bank over their mobile phones.

Somalis, particularly consumers of the mobile banking service, expressed a deep concern about Al Shabaab’s ban.

“To be safe from robbing, hundreds of U.S. dollars can be saved in your tiny mobile phone,” Ahmed Nur told a local radio station, adding this ban may affect thousands of people and telecommunications companies immediately.

With a lack of functioning central rule in Somalia, business telecommunications are lucrative.

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