The Bank of Ghana (BoG) will soon announce a new capital requirement for all institutions engaged in mobile money operation.
BoG said existing firms that are already offering the service will be given some time to meet the new requirement while new entrance will be expected to meet the requirement before receiving their licence.
Speaking to Joy FM on the sidelines of the Ghana Most Respected CEO Breakfast forum organized by the BFT newspaper, the Head of Payment Systems at the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Setor Amediku said, “The banks that we talked about which also want to come into the payment ecosystem will also have to be authorized because they already have our licence and they need to set up separate subsidiary to do that and these subsidiaries have to be capitalised, a minimum capital requirement which the BoG will soon come out that if you want do mobile money business you will need to come up with some money, which will be deposited in BoG as way of guarantee to ensure that you are fit and proper to do the business.”
Ghana tipped to be fastest growing mobile money market in Africa
A World Bank report released over the weekend has tipped Ghana to be the fastest growing mobile money market in Africa.
According to the report, the mobile phone penetration created opportunities for expansion of financial services and increased the role of non-financial institutions as much as e-money issuers, positioning Ghana as the fastest growing mobile money market in Africa.
The 45-page Report dubbed: “4th Ghana Economic Update”, which focuses on Financial Sector Development and Financial Inclusion, further stated that this dynamic development indicated the potential of digital financial services and payments to further enhance financial inclusion in Ghana.
Speaking at the launch of the 4th Ghana Economic Update, Dr Henry Kerali, the World Bank Country Director, said Ghana’s economy had had a turnaround over the past two years.
He said it would be important to leverage the momentum that the fiscal responsibility law created and ensure that fiscal sustainability could be maintained across economic and political circles, saying, more domestic resource mobilisation would be key to this effort.
Mobile Money interoperability records more than 4.4 million transactions
Mobile Money Interoperability (MMI) recorded more than 4.4 million transactions in its first year of operation.
Beginning with just 96,907 transactions in its first month, public usage of the cross-network platform grew phenomenally to 422,275 transactions in December last year and 502,873 transactions in May this year.
MMI or seamless cross mobile money network transactions became possible in May last year, following a challenge thrown to the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement System (GhIPSS), the Telcos and financial institutions by the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
The Chief Executive Officer of GhIPSS, Archie Hesse in an interview described the MMI initiative as successful.
He said it has provided a very efficient way of funds transfer for many people, opening up the mobile money payment platform, enabling people and businesses to use it in different ways.
