Participants at a forum organized by MTN in Accra, known as the “momo” forum, have urged the government to further decrease the charges associated with the E-levy. They argue that these charges are a significant obstacle to the growth of digital payments within the nation.
Under the theme of “Overcoming Obstacles to Digital Payments in Ghana,” Eric Kortey, the General Manager of Cellulant Ghana Limited, highlighted that lowering transaction fees and introducing incentives for consumers could effectively tackle the barriers to adopting digital payment methods.
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“This payment system provides such a volume-based business — you either keep the cost high and get less or you reduce it and get more.
“Since we want to increase digital adoption, reducing E-levy charges would help address such barriers.
“Although the country has made significant gains in creating access to digital financial services and smartphone penetration, a good proportion of the population are unable to access and participate in what is available,” he said.
Statistical Insights According to data provided by the FinTech office at the Bank of Ghana, the percentage of active mobile money accounts compared to the total number of registered mobile money accounts has declined from 38.8% in June 2021 to 37.0% in June 2023.
On a positive note, the total volume of transactions has seen a substantial increase of 40.7% between June 2022 and June 2023, accompanied by a value growth of 71.7%. Conversely, transactions grew by 17% between June 2021 and June 2022, but their value decreased by 7.6%.
Kwame Oppong, the Head of FinTech and Innovation at the Bank of Ghana, emphasized the central bank’s dedication to collaborating with stakeholders to tackle the obstacles hindering digital payments in the country.
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He outlined several crucial aspects, including the need for simpler onboarding processes to improve access to fundamental services, educating consumers to empower them, establishing mechanisms for customer grievances to foster consumer trust, ensuring the protection of data privacy to safeguard customers’ rights, and supervising the market to ensure consumer safety.
“Create an innovative regulatory framework that can help you achieve your objectives in terms of serving consumers, and also able to help us achieve our political goals of financial inclusion and a cashless society,” Mr Oppong said, adding that competition in the market should not be destructive.
