The Bank of Ghana has released data showing that total mobile money transactions in the first four months of 2023 exceeded ¢550 billion, indicating a year-on-year growth of about 66.2%.
In comparison, during the same period in 2022, the recorded amount was ¢331.2 billion.
If this trend continues, the total mobile money transactions for the entire year are projected to surpass ¢1 trillion, as was the case in previous years.
According to the Bank of Ghana’s May 2022 Summary of Economic and Financial Data, mobile money transactions in January 2023 were estimated at ¢130.1 billion, compared to ¢76.2 billion in January 2022.
In February 2023, the amount rose to ¢134.0 billion (compared to ¢76.5 billion in February 2022), and further increased to ¢147.5 billion in March 2023 (compared to ¢90.5 billion in March 2022). However, in April 2023, it declined slightly to ¢138.8 billion (compared to ¢87.7 billion).
According to the central bank, it is evident that the growth in mobile money transactions remains strong despite the implementation of the 1% Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy).
The data indicates that mobile money transactions have been steadily increasing since the introduction of the E-Levy in May 2022, initially set at a rate of 1.5%.
However, on 11 January 2023, the government reduced the tax rate on electronic transactions from 1.5% to 1.0%.