The value of mobile money transfers fell by GH3.2 billion in December last year, according to data released by the Bank of Ghana (BoG), less than a month after Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta announced an electronic transfer charge in the 2022 budget (E-Levy).
According to the data, the value of transactions on the country’s largest payment network declined by 3.8 percentage points to GH82.9 billion in December from GH86.1 billion in November 2021.
The value of mobile money transactions had just grown to GH80 billion in October from GH71.7 billion in September, a more than 10% increase between the two months before Mr. Ofori-Atta announced the introduction of the 1.75 percent E-levy.
Aside from that, the volume of transactions suggests that some customers are hesitant to use the mobile money platform, as it increased by 300,000 in December, indicating a 0.75 percentage point increase from November.
However, there was a 700,000 increase in number of transactions from September and October, or a 1.74 percentage point increase.
Following the announcement of the 1.75 percent E-levy, this trend shows a shift in customer behavior in terms of using the payment platform.
It also verifies many people’s suspicions, particularly those of mobile money agents, that enacting the E-levy will discourage many clients from using the payment network, causing their businesses to collapse, a fear that various government officials have refuted.
In response to concerns raised by mobile money operators, Minister of Communications, Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, remarked at a town hall meeting on the E-levy in Koforidua, Eastern Region, “I can certainly say to the MoMO operators that we are working to develop your company, not destroy it.”
