Former Vice President of Ghana, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has extolled the nation’s strides in digital financial services, describing Ghana as the fastest-growing mobile money market on the African continent.
Delivering an address at the Cambridge Africa Business Conference on Saturday, 17th May 2025, under the theme “Africa’s Digital Transformation: Building Resilient Economies Through Innovation,” Dr Bawumia underscored the transformative impact of digital reforms in the financial sector, with mobile money interoperability at the centre of the success story.
“We asked the questions: why can’t we make it possible to send mobile money across different telephone companies and also why can’t the mobile money account function like a bank account by making it interoperable with bank accounts? The answer to these questions was the implementation of groundbreaking mobile money interoperability (MMI) across all banks and telcos,” he explained.
According to Dr Bawumia, the implementation of the MMI has enabled seamless fund transfers between mobile money wallets and bank accounts, regardless of the service provider.
“This,” he observed, “has practically turned mobile money wallets into bank accounts, drastically improving access to financial services.”
He emphasised that Ghana remains the first African nation—and one of the very few globally—to attain full interoperability between bank accounts and mobile money wallets.
“Ghana is the first country in Africa and one of a very few in the world to achieve this type of interoperability between bank accounts and mobile wallets,” Dr Bawumia stated.
This pioneering move, he revealed, has led to over 90 percent financial inclusion among the country’s adult population, placing Ghana at the apex of Africa’s financial accessibility rankings.
“Every adult Ghanaian can either get a traditional bank account or a mobile money account which works like a bank account,” he noted.
Referencing empirical data, Dr Bawumia disclosed that mobile money transactions in Ghana have surged fortyfold between 2017 and 2024.
The country, he added, now possesses a fully interoperable instant payment system and has gained international acclaim for its regulatory framework in the mobile money space.
Further highlighting Ghana’s digital credentials, he noted that the country is one of only four globally—alongside Singapore, India, and China—to roll out a universal QR code payment system, thereby positioning itself as a global leader in digital payment innovation.
With these milestones, Dr Bawumia declared, “Ghana is firmly placed on the digital transformation map and serves as a model for other African nations aiming to expand financial inclusion and modernise their economies.”
