The annual Financial Fraud Report from the Bank of Ghana indicates that even though the number of fraud cases on the platforms of the various payment service providers (PSPs) increased, the amount of money stolen in those incidents dropped significantly.
Per the report, of that the number of case reached 14,655, which is 20 percent higher than the 12,166 cases recorded in 2022. But the amount of money lost in those case dropped from GHS26 million in 2022 to GHS16 million in 2023, reflecting a 38% decline.
Meanwhile, the 14,655 fraud cases recorded by PSP in 2023 represent over 92% of the 15,865 number of cases recorded for the whole year.
This indicates that fraud via the mobile money and other stand alone digital finance apps and channels belonging to PSPs are in very small amounts but the incidents are increasing really fast, which concerns the Bank of Ghana greatly, particularly because those are the channels driving financial inclusion.
According to the report, by end of the year 2023, electronic customer accounts had reached 65.6 million with 22.8 million being active users, while volume of transactions for the same period reached 6.8 billion (36% higher than the 5 billion in 2022) with a corresponding transaction value of GH¢1.9 trillion, 90% higher than the GHS1 trillion recorded in 2022.
“E-money usage across various networks and channels has made financial services more accessible for millions of Ghanaians and ultimately fostered financial inclusion. Customers of e-money platforms perform a wide range of services including payments of insurance, investments, remittances, among others,” the report noted.
The BoG said due to the increasing fraud cases recorded in the sub-sector, it has become necessary for stakeholders to increase awareness through sensitization programs, strengthening security measures and adopting proactive initiatives in dealing with fraud in the sub-sector, especially during festive seasons.
