According to Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the Minister of Communications and Digitalization, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are collaborating with the Bank of Ghana to make it easier for people to get their money back from mobile money accounts (MOMO).

Many users have expressed their concerns about not being able to access their mobile money accounts’ funds after their SIM cards were disabled, due to failure to re-register them.

On June 8, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful updated lawmakers on the status of the SIM re-registration process. She reassured affected subscribers that although they will not be able to use their deactivated SIMs for mobile transactions, their money will still be recovered through the required procedures.

“We continue to encourage the National Identification Authority (NIA) to assist people to acquire their Ghana Card. We have also been made aware of the difficulties facing subscribers in accessing their funds on their mobile money wallets.
“These subscribers will not be able to transact money mobile-related activities. However, we are working with the Bank of Ghana to ensure that these subscribers are able to retrieve funds upon the presentation of a valid ID and going through the required processes.”
Ursula Owusu-Ekuful

According to the Minister of Communications and Digitalization, in the recently completed SIM card re-registration operation, 28,948,142 SIM cards have been fully registered.

“Mr. Speaker, so far, 28,948,142 SIM cards have been fully registered while 999,419 SIM cards have been exempted and so the total active SIM cards are 29,947,561. At the start of the exercise, our information was that there were 42,416,459 SIM cards out of which 7,995,679 have been unregistered and blocked while 4,473,219 SIM cards have been deleted and removed.”
Ursula Owusu-Ekuful

She added that the subscribers’ last deadline had led to more registrations within the time period.

“Since the final deadline, increased activity indicates that some of these blocked SIM cards are being reactivated, following the completion of all necessary processes.
However, it is important to note that not all the blocked SIMs are expected back on the network as some of these SIM cards were being used for fraud. I was also informed that almost 280,000 merchant SIM cards have not been registered.”
Ursula Owusu-Ekuful

Finish Re-Registration Completely Or Risk Permanent Block

Ursula Owusu addressed issues brought up by those whose SIM cards were blocked, following registration.

She stressed during the parliamentary session that people who did not finish the second registration phase were the ones affected and asked them to act right away to avoid a long-term obstruction.

“I have also heard some people complain that though they have registered their SiM cards, those SIMs were blocked. My information is that several of these complaints are from people who did not complete the second stage of the process as required.”
Ursula Owusu-Ekuful

The Minister stressed that anyone whose SIM card was disabled as a result of incorrect registration, has a chance to gain access to the number again. She emphasized the necessity of re-registering quickly because the National Communications Authority (NCA) will declare a deadline for resolving these difficulties, after which the SIM cards will be permanently barred.

The MNOs will aid in resolving the challenges with incomplete registration, giving users access to their SIM cards and related phone numbers once more.

“Those who are experiencing this issue should promptly contact their MNO to have the issues resolved. After duly registering and completing the second phase of the process, the owners of the SIM cards will have their numbers reinstated.”
Ursula Owusu-Ekuful

The SIM card registration campaign was previously planned to start on October 1 of 2021 and end on March 31, 2022. The only document needed to complete the registration process is the National Identification Card, also known as the Ghana Card.

However, due to challenges faced in obtaining the Ghana Card, the National Communications Authority (NCA) extended the registration deadline multiple times until May 31, 2023, which was explicitly communicated as the final deadline.