As part of MTN’s 10th anniversary of the Mobile Money (MoMo) service, the company has taken another judicious step by organizing second stakeholders’ conference in Accra.
The General Manager of Mobile Financial Services, MTN Ghana Mr Eli Hini, speaking on the theme, “The Role of Regulations in Sustaining the Growth of Mobile Financial Services in Ghana “noted that, the company had witnessed a dynamic regulatory environment over the past decade that had been a key contributor to the growth of the MoMo service.
The regulatory environment, he said, included the introduction of branchless banking guidelines, introduction of E-Money Issuer and agents’ guidelines, as well as passing of the new payment system and services act.
According to him, some regulatory inputs made over the past decade in mobile financial services included changes in the regulations, interest payment, consumer protection, agent management, deposit protection, partnership, and interoperability services.
This he said, there is the need for dialogue on policy concerns that may stifle the growth of the Mobile Money in Ghana.
Stressing that, policy makers need to consider the minimum paid-up capital requirement for people to participate in the mobile money transaction.
Adding that, it was necessary for them to ensure that it did not become a hindrance for participation in the growing industry.
The General Manager, hinted that already relevant taxes are being paid by customers who use the service just like any means of payment, therefore, implementing additional taxes on Mobile Financial Services (MFS) will have a negative ripple effect in the service and other related industry.
However, he tasked policy makers to consider the growth of financial technologies to support speed of new products and services, promote adoption of new services to market, and deepen cyber security policy discussion to standardise its implementation across the various industries.
The Head of Research Department, Bank of Ghana, Mr Philip Abradu-Otoo, hinted that, a recent data showed that the number of active mobile money accounts in the country had increased to about 12.7 million in the first quarter of 2019 compared the 345,000 in 2012.
This he said, using mobile money as the country’s payment system had helped the country to strategize its continuous role toward fully digitized and inclusive financial sector.
It is in this regard, the national financial inclusion development strategy and the payment system strategy was developed to fully formalise the economy.
The Head of GSM Association, Sub-Saharan Africa Mr Akinwale Goodluck, noted that West Africa, was now leading in growth of mobile money in Sub-Saharan Africa with Ghana leading the growth in the Region.
This he said, said the favourable regulatory environment had played a significant role in driving mobile money adoption and financial inclusion in Ghana, which stands at 58 per cent according to the Global Findex.
Mr Goodluck noted that the country’s current (2018) minimum capital requirement for mobile money operators is 4.16 per cent relative to the minimum capital requirement for banks under the current regulatory framework marginally higher than the median.
The median minimum capital requirement for mobile money providers relative to the minimum capital requirements for banks is three per cent, he disclosed.
He therefore called on government to explore ways to broaden the tax base by encouraging the use of mobile money transactions for government payments.
The Chief Executive Officer of CoreNett Limited, Mr Michael Amankwah, said it was by no chance that Ghana was projected as the fastest growing mobile money country in the world and was expected to be the fastest growing economy by 2020, saying, business entities especially the private sector had worked hard to achieve it.
