Accra, Ghana//-MobileMoney Limited (MML), a wholly owned subsidiary of Scancom PLC, today launched its 2024 Mobile Money (MoMo) season and its 15th-anniversary celebrations simultaneously in Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi all in the Greater, Ashanti and Western regions.
According to the company, similar events would be held in the Volta regional capital, Ho and of the Northern regional capital, Tamale to thank the people for their loyalty and support during the 15-year journey.
Speaking at the double launch, the CEO of MobileMoney Limited, Shaibu Haruna said: “Today marks a very historic occasion in the history of mobile money as we gathered here to celebrate 15 years of mobile money’s journey in our country, our beloved Ghana”.
He paid glowing tributes to those who laid the foundation for this great business in Ghana and thanked all for supporting the MML business over the 15 years of the company’s existence.
Mr Haruna noted: “We started this journey 15 years ago, the landscape of financial services in Ghana was vastly different from what we see today. Our traditional banking industry which is well over a century old was largely inaccessible to a significant segment of our market and most of our populace especially in the rural and underserved areas of Ghana were largely not covered”.
He added many Ghanaians face challenges around conducting basic financial services and this hinders the overall economic growth of the country they recognised this gap and took on the challenge to make a meaningful difference in driving change and bringing financial services to the fingertips of every Ghanaian through the power of the mobile phone.
“Our theme for this year’s celebration is: ‘Empowering Communities: Celebrating 15 Years of Progressive Financial and Digital Inclusion’. This truly encapsulates the essence of what mobile money represents and the impact it had on many lives in Ghana.
Mobile Money as we all know was born out of a vision to democratise access to financial services. From inception, our goal was very clear to leverage the power of technology to create a more inclusive financial ecosystem”.
Mr Haruna continued: “It started as a simple but yet extremely powerful concept which is around enabling people to send money and receive money on their phones. Over the years, you are all a testament to the success in terms of revolution service which has now become an indispensable part of our daily lives as Ghanaians, and we thank you all for this great momentum and journey so far”.
Activities
As part of the celebrations, MobileMoney Limited according to senior officials would embark on regional floats across the 16 regions of the country to educate customers on fraud prevention and showcase new services and product launches, among others.
Today MoMo is just more than a mobile service. It is a platform that has empowered individuals, transformed businesses, and strengthened our communities. We have witnessed how mobile money has enabled small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to thrive and also provide them with the tools they need to be more efficient in their operations.
Impact of Mobile Money in Ghana
“Today, MobileMoney Limited alone has impacted the lives of millions of people in Ghana and beyond. From its first subscriber to 16 million subscribers in 15 years, offering mobile financial services to the banked and unbanked, and creating job opportunities for millions of Ghanaians, those who birthed the idea would be proud of themselves.
Players in the MoMo like MobileMoney Limited have also seen how it facilitates access to education, healthcare, and essential services which are important aspects of Ghanaian daily lives.
Access to government services and platforms has also been enabled through the power of mobile money services. This clearly shows the kind of bridge that mobile money has plugged over the years.
MobileMoney Limited which was the first to launch mobile money operations in Ghana on July 21st, 2009, is celebrating its 15th anniversary was launched with two main services namely Money Transfer and Airtime Purchase, the platform now has more than six major categories of financial transactions under which varying services are provided.
These are pensions, insurance, Savings, microloans, international remittances, and banking options.
In Ghana, mobile money has increased access to financial services for millions of people which has led to the strengthening of the payment ecosystem and deepening financial inclusion.
Mobile money has become more than just a mobile financial service. Now, MoMo customers have access to a wide array of services including payments, investments, insurance, remittances, and pensions among others.
According to a 2022 GSMA report released, West Africa is the world’s largest growing mobile money market, with Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal emerging as mobile money leaders in the region.
Also, in the May 2022 Summary of Economic and Financial Data by the Bank of Ghana (BoG), mobile money transactions stood at GH¢224 billion despite the implementation of the e-levy.
Barriers to Digital Payments Adoption in Ghana
Rising competition in Ghana’s digital payments and fintech sector, coupled with increased mobile money awareness, infrastructure and a good regulatory framework continue to drive innovation within the sector.
Nonetheless, despite the significant gains and progress “we have made in Ghana’s digital payments sector, there are still some challenges concerning digital payments adoption and integration in the country”, the CEO noted.
Interoperability challenges, fake identification cards, platform infrastructure, onboarding customers, and MoMo fraud among others have impeded digital payment adoption in Ghana.
MTN Ghana and MobileMoney Limited are committed to addressing these challenges by working closely with various stakeholders and partners in a bid to build a robust, efficient, and more inclusive digital payments ecosystem in the country.
