Mobile Money has become an extremely popular service within Africa; however, the service has taken a heavy blows recently. In Uganda, the service was deemed illegal. While not deemed illegal in Ghana, as of yet, Ghana’s central bank (BoG) has now introduced a new set of guidelines for telecommunication companies engaged in mobile money services.
According to a report by ghanaweb.com, telecommunication companies will have up to six months to establish a separate business entity to handle their mobile money services. Under the guidelines, which became effective on 06 July 2015, non-banks that have previously been offering mobile financial services in partnership with banks must apply for a licence, in order to conform to the new framework.
According to the report, the objective of the latest guidelines is to ensure that electronic money is only provided by a financial institutions regulated under the Banking Act, or duly licenced non-bank entities which are engaged solely in the business of e-money and activities related or incidental to the business of e-money, and which are regulated and supervised by the Bank of Ghana”.
The report reveals that three of the six mobile operators in Ghana – MTN, Airtel and Tigo – are involved in the mobile money business, which has grown from a transaction value of GHS 2.4 billion in 2013 to GHS 11.6 billion last year. The new regulation will mean that MTN, Tigo, and Airtel have a 06 January 2016 deadline to conform to the BoG’s requirements.
Darryl Linington
