On the contradictions of Africa’s fintech boom: evidence from Ghana

Figures & data

Figure 1. Growth in global value of mobile money transactions. Source: Author drawings from GSMA data (GSMA, 2021, 2022).

Table 1. Distribution of mobile money Statistics in Africa for 2020.

Area	Services	Registered accounts (millions)	Active accounts (millions)	Transaction volume (billions)	Transaction value ($) (billions)
Africa	171	562 m	161	27.5 bn	495
West Africa	70	198	47	6.4	178
Southern Africa	14	11	3	0.28	3.0
North Africa	14	14	1	0.07	5.4
Central Africa	16	46	16	2.2	35.7
East Africa	57	293	94	18.6	273

Source: GSMA (2021).

Figure 2. Growth in the value of mobile money transactions in Ghana (2012–2021). Source: Bank of Ghana (2020, 2021).

Table 2. Mobile money Statistics in Ghana (2012–2022).

Year	Registered accounts	Active accounts	Transaction volume	Transaction value ($)*
2012	3,778,374	345,434	18,042,241	330,000,000
2013	4,393,721	991,780	40,853,559	1,300,000,000
2014	7,167,542	2,526,588	113,179,738	4,181,000,000
2015	13,120,367	4,868,569	266,246,537	9,580,000,000
2016	19,735,098	8,313,283	550,218,427	20,130,000,000
2017	23,947,437	11,119,376	981,564,563	35,420,000,000
2018	32,554,346	13,056,978	1,454,470,801	48,520,000,000
2019	32,470,793	14,459,352	2,009,989,300	59,490,000,000
2020	38,473,734	17,142,677	2,859,624,191	100,742,000,000
2021	48,300,000	17,900,000	3,578,000,000	157,999,363,200

*Transaction values are the dollar equivalent of their Ghana cedi figures reported by the Bank of Ghana. They are converter at the end of year exchange rates corresponding to each year.

Source: Bank of Ghana (2020, 2021).

Table 3. Comparison of mobile money fees and tariffs by operators.

Mobile money operator	Transaction amount (¢)	Mobile money fees and tariffs
		Send from a registered to registered customer	Send from a registered customer to unregistered customer	Send from unregistered customer to unregistered customer	Withdrawal by registered customer	ATM cash-out	Interoperability
MTN	1.00–50.00	0.50	1.50	2.50	0.50	0.50	0.75
	50.01–1000.00	1%	3%	5%	1%	1%	1.50%
	Above 1000.00	10.00	n/a	n/a	10.00	n/a	15.00
Vodafone	1.00–50.00	Free	1.50	n/a	0.50	0.50	n/a
	50.01–75.00	Free	2.50	n/a	1%	1.50	n/a
	75.01–100.00	Free	2.50	n/a	1%	1.50	n/a
	100.01–250.00	Free	4.50	n/a	1%	2.50	n/a
	250.01–500.00	Free	6.00	n/a	1%	4.00	n/a
	500.01–1000.00	Free	n/a	n/a	1%	n/a	n/a
	1000.01–2000.00	Free	n/a	n/a	10.00	n/a	n/a
	2000.01–3000.00	Free	n/a	n/a	10.00	n/a	n/a
AirtelTigo	1.00–50.00	0	0.75	0.5	0.50	0.50	0.75
	50.01–1000.00	0.50%	1.50%	1%	1%	1%	1.50%
	Above 1000.00	10.00	1.50%	n/a	10.00	10.00	15.00

Figures not quoted in percentages represent flat rates charged in Ghana cedi (¢).

n/a (not applicable) means the service is either not rendered or not rendered at the corresponding amount.

Source: Bank of Ghana (2020).

Table 4. Impact of e-levy on transaction cost.

Transfer amount (¢)	Fees without e-levy (¢) (¢50–¢1000 = 1% above ¢1000 = ¢10)	E-levy charge (¢) (1.5% on additional amount after ¢100)	Total fees (¢) (fees plus e-levy)
200	2	1.5	3.5
300	3	3	6
500	5	6	11
1,100	10	15	25
2,100	10	30	40
	*(50–1000 = 0.75% Above 1000 = ¢7.5)
200	1.5	1.5	3
300	2.25	3	5.25
500	3.75	6	9.75
1,100	7.5	15	22.5
2,100	7.5	30	37.5

*MTN’s planned tariff reduction.

Source: Author’s calculation based on tariff data from Bank of Ghana (2020).

Figure 3. Registered vs active MM accounts in Ghana (2012–2022). Source: Bank of Ghana (2020, 2021, 2022).

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