The spokesperson for the Mobile Money Agents Association of Ghana, Charles Kwasi Addo, has bemoaned the incessant robbery attacks on mobile money agents, saying the business is currently one of the riskiest to run in the country.
Mobile money operators have on several occasions been victims of robbery attacks, with some being killed, while others are injured.
Recently, there were separate robbery attacks on two mobile money vendors in the Sekondi Takoradi Metropolis in the Western Region.
Other attacks have been recorded in other parts of the country.
Speaking on Citi TV’s Point of View on Wednesday, Mr. Addo said security had become a major challenge that many mobile money operators are battling with.
“Mobile money is one of the businesses that is the riskiest. Security has become one of the major challenges that we are struggling with. There is direct burglary and that is the order of the day now,” he said.
Provide capital
Proffering suggestions on how to make the mobile money business thrive, Mr. Addo called on the government to support mobile money operators with the capital required to run their business.
Mobile Money operators are expected to meet a minimum capital requirement for running their business.
In 2019, the Bank of Ghana the Bank of Ghana pegged the minimum capital required for operating a mobile money company at GH¢20 million.
The directive came on the back of the passage of the Payment Systems and Services Act, 2019 (Act 987) which provides a legal and regulatory framework for the orderly development of the country’s payment system.
Mr. Addo said it is relevant for the government to make capital more accessible to mobile money operators seeking to meet the minimum requirement for running their business.
“Government should give us capital. It is difficult to assess capital and even if you are given capital, it comes with a higher interest rate,” Mr. Addo said on Citi TV’s Point of View.
Value of Mobile Money transactions up by 110 percent in 2020
The value of mobile money transactions had doubled in 2020, per data from the Bank of Ghana.
The total value shot up by over 110 percent eight months into the year 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.
The total number of mobile money transactions saw a surge from 175 million in August 2019 to 267 million in August 2020.
This is contained in the Central Bank’s Summary of Macroeconomic and Financial Data report.
The value of Mobile Money Interoperability (MMI) transactions also shot up by almost a 1,000 percent from GHS65.7 million to GHS685 million between August 2019 and August 2020.
