Total value of Mobile Money (MoMo) transactions has picked up strongly after suffering a major setback at the beginning of the second half of the year.

According to Mobile Money data presented by the Bank of Ghana, total value of MoMo transactions rose to GHS87.1 billion in August 2022, up from GHS77.2 billion in July. This means that transactions undertaken through the MoMo platform rose by GHS9.9 billion in August which in percentage terms, represents a growth of 12.8 percent.

This year, the highest value of MoMo transactions was recorded in the month of March (GHS90.5 billion). This dropped to 87.7 billion in April and plugged further to GHS71.4 billion in May, following the introduction of the 1.5 percent electronic transactions levy. The value recorded in May was the lowest so far this year.

It however, rose to GHS77.4 billion in June but declined again to GHS77.2 billion in July before picking up strongly in August. The rise in the value of transactions will whip up hopes of the government that intends to raise substantial revenues from the E-levy.

Total number of transactions also rose to 447 million in August 2022, highest level reported so far this year.

Rise in registered accounts

One striking observation from the data is that more customers are enrolling on the MoMo platform as reflected in the consistent growth of registered mobile money accounts.

According to the data from the BoG, registered mobile money accounts rose from 48.4 million in January this year to 52.4 million at the end of August. This means that a total of 4 million new accounts have been added to the MoMo platform so far this year.

On a year-on-year basis, registered mobile money accounts grew by 13.9 percent in August 2022, up from 46 million in August 2021. The implication is that more people are becoming financially included, which is very much in line with the government’s agenda of promoting financial inclusion in the country.

Despite the rise in the number of registered accounts, most of them remained dormant during the review period. Out of the 52.4 million registered accounts, only 19.5 million were considered active mobile money accounts as of the end of August this year.

A whopping 32.9 million of MoMo accounts are currently inactive, as per the available data. This means that 62.8 percent of registered mobile money accounts across all networks in the country are currently not active. Active mobile money accounts are the number of accounts which transacted at least once in the 90 days prior to BoG’s reporting on October 6, 2022.

Though the total number of registered agents remained unchanged at 642 thousand, the number of active agents rose from 441 thousand in July 2022 to 472 thousand in August.

Changing the Face of Mobile Money in Ghana

The government’s emphasis on digitalization is being observed in the mobile money industry of Ghana which is gradually creating competition among industry players.

In June 2022, Ghana’s central bank launched GhanaPay, a mobile money wallet for savings and loans companies and banks, including rural and community banks.

Developed through a collaboration between local banks and the country’s central bank, the new platform is expected to distinguish itself from prior mobile money solutions in the country, which have been advanced by mobile network operators (MNOs).

Considering the dominance of these MNOs, the launch of GhanaPay looks like a move to firm up banks’ presence in the provision of Ghana’s mobile money services, signaling a shift away from cooperation to a more competitive stance.

For starters, GhanaPay is free to use. This alone is an attractive proposition; as existing MNO mobile money wallets typically charge fees to make money. GhanaPay has the potential to bring mobile money to areas of the economy that have traditionally relied on other payment methods which will further consolidate the country’s financial inclusion gains.