TIG Post

Tag: MoMo

  • SMEs to receive stimulus through MoMo, bank accounts NBSSI

    Executive Director of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), Ms Kosi Antwiwaa Yankey, has announced that businesses will receive their portion of the GH¢600million stimulus package through their Mobile Money or bank accounts.

    Speaking at the launch of the coronavirus alleviation programme business support scheme, at the seat of government, the Jubilee House in Accra on Tuesday May 19., she said: “The telcos will assess the application and issue a recommendation. Once the recommendation is made funds will be disbursed directly to successful applicants. Disbursements will be made by mobile money transaction or directly into their bank accounts.”

    Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has said the GH¢600million stimulus package is a good start to assist Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMES) in Ghana following the COVID-19 pandemic.

    As part of efforts to ameliorate the hardship on Ghanaian businesses the government of Ghana has earmarked GH¢600million to assist businesses.

    However, analysts and groups including the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Ghana National Union of Traders Association (GUTA) have said the amount is not enough to support the businesses.

    But Mr Ofori Atta indicated that the Akufo-Addo administration is committed to ensuring that SMEs remain vibrant in order to create jobs for Ghanaians during the period of the coronavirus pandemic.

    He said, this commitment is seen in the earmarked GH¢600million for SMEs to ensure they remain in business in spite of the impact of the COVID-19.

    speaking at the launch of the coronavirus alleviation programme business support scheme, at the seat of government, the Jubilee House in Accra on Tuesday May 19.

    He said the “government is committed to ensuring that SMEs remain vibrant and continue to create jobs for the people of Ghana during this period.”

    He added GH¢600million can go a long way in creating the Ghanaian enterprise.

    Robert Ahomka Lindsey, a Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry said the coronavirus alleviation programme is a key intervention to address the challenges facing Ghanaian businesses following the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The programme will focus on the Pharmaceutical, manufacturing, tourism, water and sanitation, education including private, sectors.

    “The programme will be rolled out nationwide,” he said.

    Source: laudbusiness.com

  • MoMo interoperability rise in 1st quarter

    Mobile Money transfers across different networks, also known as Mobile Money Interoperability (MMI), have shot up by 358 per cent in the first three months of this year, compared to the same period last year.

    The volume went up to over 5.12 million transactions from 1.11million in the first quarter of last year, according to figures from the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS), a subsidiary of the Bank of Ghana.

    Sending money from a wallet to another of a different telecommunications network was only possible through the token system, which was complicated until the MMI, was introduced in May 2018.

    Since its introduction, it has become easier to transfer funds across wallets of different networks. This possibility has also led many organizations to set up their systems to accept mobile money payments.

    Mr. Archie Hesse, the Chief Executive of GhIPSS, said in an interview that the MMI had made payments through mobile money one of the most efficient and easy to access.

    He, therefore, urged all businesses to accept payments from mobile money wallets as one of the default modes of payment or risk losing out on potential income.

    When MMI started, the volume of transactions hovered around 100,000 per month but monthly transactions have since crossed the one million mark with the month of March 2020 recording close to two million transactions.

    MMI transactions include transfers from wallets to bank accounts as well as from wallets to e-Zwich cards.

    However, these two account for less than three per cent of the volume of transactions, implying that an overwhelming majority of the transactions involve wallet to wallet transfers.

    Mobile money, in general, has witnessed phenomenal success in Ghana but this is being negated by the frequent cash-back transactions, which means that ultimately cash is being used to make payments.

    In recent times, however, the introduction of merchant IDs has encouraged customers to pay directly from their wallets.

    Another effort likely to result in a further drop in cash-back transactions is the launch of the universal QR code for payment.

    This payment service will enable customers to scan the codes of merchants to pay directly from their wallets. The QR code payment is also available for feature phone users who will be required to dial a specific code to effect payment.

    Payment using QR code in Ghana can be made using mobile money wallets or bank accounts as well as any other payment apps that fintechs may develop. This payment service was launched in March this year.

    Source: Daily Guide Network

  • BoG directs fintechs and MoMo operators to acquire license by June 2020

    The Bank of Ghana has said companies engaged in online or digital transactions including Mobile Money Operators and fintechs, have up to June 2020 to acquire their licenses to enable them operate in the electronic payment space.

    The acquisition of the license by these companies is one of the requirements in the Payment Systems and Services, 2019 (987Act).

    Man arrested for attempting to load MOMO account with fake currency

    The Act was passed in March this year, to ensure effective monitoring and regulation of digital transactions following an increase in such services.

    Statistics from the Bank of Ghana shows that while mobile money accounts have increased to 32 million, Bank accounts currently stand at 12 million with a lot of them being inactive.

    “Consumer protection issues have gained prominence in the digital financial service on account of complexity of digital ecosystem. For this reason, regulatory guidance is required for effective consumer protection,” Head of Payment Systems Department at the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Settor Amediku, said at the 23rd National Banking Conference organized by the Chartered Institute of Bankers.

    You need GHC20m to run MoMo firm BoG

    The Bank of Ghana has therefore stepped up the monitoring of digital transactions with the introduction of a database called the Visor.

    The Vizor will enable the BoG monitor real time all electronic transactions of banks.

    Dr. Amediku says they are already in talks with the banks to facilitate the introduction of the database.

    “Vizor will provide end-to-end solution which permits the bank to collect, process, store as well as report on macro and micro prudential data, statistical data or any other data required as part of the supervisory process.”

    Source: citibusinessnews.com