BoG to approve interest on Mobile Money deposits

The Bank of Ghana will at the end of 2016 give approval for the payment of interest on mobile money deposits in the country.

The deputy Head of Payment Systems at the Bank of Ghana Carissa Kudowor dropped the hint at the MTN Mobile Money Stakeholder Conference in Accra. It was themed: “Let go cashless with MTN Mobile Money, supported by an enabling regulatory environment.”

It means customers will be earning between 1.5 and 7 percent on the amount in their wallet with the four Telcos namely MTN, Vodafone, Tigo and Airtel from next year. Latest statistics from The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor – GCAP - reveals mobile money transactions in Ghana have reached a total of Gh¢679.17 million.

The figure represents a 20% growth for the mid-year figure, compared to the Gh¢547.96 million recorded for the end of 2015.

The General Manager for Mobile Financial Services at MTN Eli Hini told Starr Business measures are already in place to calculate the interest that will be accrued on deposit to customers.

According to him, the payment of interest is also part of incentive to speed up the growth of the mobile money sector by encouraging more people to sign onto the service in a bid to make Ghana a cashless society.

Meanwhile, the CEO of the Consumer Protection Agency Kofi Kapito has welcomed the move by the Central Bank, but said it is long overdue.

“I wish and hope customers will receive the interest but as a consumer, I would follow up to ensure the interest is paid. At least this means if you have money in your mobile money wallet, you can now earn interest on your money,” he added.