The Bank of Ghana has disclosed that the total mobile money transactions in the first 10 months of 2023 reached a record ¢1.527 trillion cedis, an increase of 80.7% compared with the same period in 2022.
October 2023 recorded the highest mobile money transaction value of ¢179.2 billion, surpassing the previous record of ¢169.6 billion in July 2023.
The figures from the Central Bank show that the value of mobile money transactions grew steadily from ¢130.1 billion in January 2023 to ¢134.0 billion in February 2023, and then to ¢147.5 billion in March 2023. The value dropped slightly to ¢138.8 billion in April 2023, but rebounded to ¢159.7 billion in May 2023.
Transaction value declined again to ¢149.4 billion in June 2023, but rose to ¢169.6 billion in July 2023, the highest recorded at the time. It then fell to ¢161.8 billion in August 2023, and then to ¢157.0 billion in September 2023, before hitting an all-time high of ¢179.2 billion in October 2023.The impressive performance of mobile money transactions reflects the increasing adoption of digital payments in Ghana, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
No Information on Government Meeting E-Levy Target
Mobile money has become a convenient and safe way for millions of Ghanaians to access financial services, such as sending and receiving money, paying bills, shopping, and transferring money to friends and family.
However, the government’s introduction of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) on electronic transactions raised concerns among some stakeholders, with many fearing that it may discourage mobile money usage and affect the financial inclusion agenda. The government initially proposed a tax rate of 1.5% on electronic transactions, but later reduced it to 1.0% after public outcry. There have since been calls for the rate to be reduced further to 0.5% to encourage many people to avoid dodging payment of the levy.
It is unclear whether the government is meeting the E-Levy target for 2023, as the Bank of Ghana has not released the data on the revenue collected from the levy. The government expects to raise ¢6.9 billion from the levy in 2023, which is expected to finance some of its flagship projects, such as the Free SHS project, the National Health Insurance Scheme, and the Planting for Food and Jobs.
