The President of the Mobile Money Agents Association Ghana, Edward Ofori Agyeman, has identified frequent robberies targeting mobile money agents as a primary factor behind the recent decrease in transactions, as reported by the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
According to him, a major operational challenge facing mobile money agents are the lack of secure places to store cash after working hours as Banks and money keeping institutions tend to be closed by the time operators are done for the day.
“The place of work is not a place to securely keep money, and given the time MoMo operators close, banks have already closed,” he explained.
He cited harrowing examples all within two months ago where mobile money agent in Kasoa was robbed at gunpoint and lost GH¢33,000 and another in Koforidua involving robbers stealing GH¢55,000 from him.
Calling on the Inspector General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, Agyeman urged enhanced security measures to address this issue.
“Dampare has done a great job with visibility, and I plead that this continues and increases far more than what we see, we can increase police motorcycle patrols, particularly in areas with high incidences of mobile money robberies.
“I would ask that deliberate attention be directed to areas with extreme mobile money robbery incidents. I believe more police visibility will help,” he said on Onua FM.
The Bank of Ghana’s report for June 2024 reveals a significant decline in mobile money indicators. The total number of transactions fell to 644 million, down from 668 million in May 2024.
This decline led to a decrease in the total value of transactions, dropping from GH¢234.3 billion to GH¢224 billion.
However, the balance of float, representing the amount of money held in mobile money accounts, saw a slight increase, rising from GH¢21.1 billion to GH¢22.2 billion during the same period.
