Many people are taking advantage of Mobile Money Interoperability (MMI), to move money from bank accounts to Mobile Money (MoMo) wallets and vice versa.
The overriding feature of the second phase of the MMI, is the financial inclusion triangle, that is the linking of bank accounts to MoMo wallets and e-zwich cards, which allowed funds to move across all the three platforms. As a result of these, many people now freely move their funds across the platforms.
The Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) Half Year Performance report shows that more people are moving funds from their bank account to MoMo wallets than previously.
In the first half of 2019, the volume of funds moved from bank accounts to MoMo wallets stood at about 240,192, but it jumped to 2.1 million transactions in the first half of this year, representing an impressive growth of over 780 percent.
Although the volume of movement of funds from MoMo wallets to bank accounts is lower, it also recorded very high growth this year compared to the same period last year. The volume moved from 66,475 in the first half of 2019 to about 380,000 within the same period this year, a growth of over 470 percent.
Chief Executive of GhIPSS Archie Hesse, in an interview projected further growth in the volume of transfers from bank account to MoMo wallet and vice versa.
He said the convenience of moving funds between bank accounts and MoMo wallets has made life a lot easier for many.
“Today, if you need to pay an artisan who has just done a job for you or any other person, and you don’t have enough funds in your wallet, you can immediately pull funds from your bank account to the MoMo wallet of the person and that makes things very efficient”, Mr. Hesse explained.
Electronic payment channels continue to record impressive growth in patronage, as more people become aware of the efficiency and convenience that they bring to business operations and individual lives.
The corona virus pandemic which has compelled a lot of people to cut back on their physical movements, appears to also contribute to the increase in electronic payment transactions.
