The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications has disclosed that all mobile money agent accounts without Ghana Cards or Tax Identification Number will be blocked on February 1, 2024.
This follows multiple extensive engagements with the leadership of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) on the linking of all agent accounts with the Ghana Card or TIN. The Authority had magnanimously gave all EMIs up to the end of Wednesday, January 31, 2024, to work with the agents to ensure they complete the linking process
A press release from the Chamber pointed out that information about this exercise has been communicated directly with all affected agents through multiple channels over the period. “We would like to use this press release as a last call to action to the agents, by urging them to regularise their operations through the linking of their accounts with their Ghana Cards or TIN if they haven’t already. Failure to do so before the end of Wednesday, January 31, 2023, will lead to the blocking of their accounts”, it said.
In the unfortunate circumstances where an agent’s account is suspended on February 1, 2024, the Chamber urged them to visit any of the operator outlets with their Ghana Card or TIN to complete the process.
The Chamber stressed the importance of mobile financial services in facilitating financial inclusion and economic growth in the country and expressed commitment to taking the needed steps to deliver convenient, secure, and accessible financial services to all Ghanaians.
Total Mobile Money Transactions Hit Record GH¢1.912 trillion In 2023
Meanwhile, the total value of Mobile Money transactions reached a record level in 2023. According to the January 2024 Summary of Economic and Financial Data by the Bank of Ghana, total mobile money transactions hit GH¢1.912 trillion last year.
This is compared with GH¢1.07 trillion in 2022. In the first 10 months of 2023, the total Mobile Money transactions had reached a record GH¢1.527 trillion.
The figures from the Bank of Ghana showed that December 2023 recorded the biggest mobile money transaction value of GH¢199.3 billion.
The data also revealed that total mobile money transactions surged consistently from January 2023 to December 2023. All the 12 months recorded more than GH¢100 billion respectively.
In January 2023, the value of mobile money transactions stood at GH¢130.1 billion, compared with GH¢76.2 billion during the same period in 2022.
It surged to GH¢134.0 billion in February 2023 (February 2022: GH¢76.5 billion) and subsequently to GH¢147.5 billion in March 2023 (March 2022: GH¢90.5 billion).
It however, fell to GH¢138.8 billion in April 2023 (GH¢87.7 billion), but shot up to GH¢159.7 billion in May 2023 (May 2022: GH¢71.4 billion) before declining slightly to GH¢149.4 billion in June 2023 (June 2022: GH¢77.1 billion).
But it achieved a then-record transaction of GH¢169.6 billion in July 2023, before declining to GH¢161.8 billion in August 2023. It again fell to GH¢157.0 billion in September 2023 (GH¢88.2 billion: September 2022) before hitting an all-time record of GH¢179.2 billion in October 2023. It then surged to GH¢185.9 billion in November 2024.
Despite the impressive performance of mobile money, it is unclear whether the government is meeting the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) target for 2023.
