Ghana’s growing mobile money market is creating opportunities for businesses to expand sales, improve cash flow and access financing, but low digital payment adoption among enterprises threatens to limit the economic benefits.
Data from the Bank of Ghana show that mobile money transactions reached 954 million in June 2026, valued at GH¢492.9 billion, compared with GH¢323.2 billion in June 2025.
Despite the surge in digital transactions, only 37 per cent of businesses in Ghana accept or use digital payments, according to the 2024 Integrated Business Establishment Survey conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service, the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) and ReFinD.
The gap highlights a growing challenge for the economy: while consumers are increasingly comfortable with digital financial services, many businesses are yet to translate that shift into stronger sales, better financial management and access to credit.
For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), wider adoption of digital payments could help reduce the difficulties associated with tracking sales, managing daily revenue and building the financial records needed to secure loans.
The census findings indicate that businesses using formal merchant accounts are associated with stronger revenue growth, higher employment and greater formalisation, suggesting that the benefits of digital payments extend beyond the collection of money.
The Bank of Ghana has reported 26 million active mobile money accounts and 546,000 active mobile money agents, providing a substantial foundation for businesses to expand their use of digital financial services.
The next challenge is ensuring that businesses can use this infrastructure to improve productivity, reach more customers and compete in an increasingly digital marketplace.
Digital payment gap could limit SME growth
For many Ghanaian businesses, particularly smaller enterprises, accepting digital payments is becoming an important part of remaining competitive as consumers increasingly shop through social media, online platforms and mobile channels.
Businesses that can receive payments conveniently across these channels may be better positioned to serve customers who prefer cashless transactions and those purchasing goods and services from outside their immediate locations.
However, the transition involves more than simply providing a mobile money number or installing a payment terminal.
Merchants must consider transaction costs, fraud risks, customer confidence and whether the technology fits their operations. The ReFinD census identified concerns about fraud, uncertain returns and limited knowledge as barriers to digital payment adoption.
These challenges are particularly important for SMEs operating on tight margins, where additional transaction costs or a single fraudulent payment could affect working capital.
Payment providers therefore face pressure to develop affordable, secure and accessible solutions that reflect the needs of small businesses rather than focusing solely on larger merchants.
Mastercard’s collaboration with DPO Group is one example of efforts to address the challenge. The partnership enables Ghanaian businesses to accept multiple digital payment methods, including mobile money and e-wallets, from local and international customers through a single platform.
The offering also includes fraud protection, chargeback support and training to help businesses manage digital payments.
Such services could help businesses streamline collections and serve customers across different markets, although the impact will depend on affordability, merchant uptake and how effectively the solutions address the needs of individual enterprises.
Digital transactions could improve access to business loans
Beyond making payments easier, digital transactions could help address one of the longstanding challenges facing Ghanaian SMEs: access to affordable financing.
Small businesses often struggle to demonstrate their financial performance because their sales and expenses are not consistently recorded. This can make it difficult for lenders to assess their revenue, cash flow and ability to repay loans.
Digital payments can generate transaction records that help businesses reconcile sales, monitor revenue and build a financial history over time.
Where such records are reliable and accepted by lenders, they could strengthen a business’s ability to demonstrate its performance and potentially improve access to working capital.
This is significant for retailers, distributors and wholesalers that need regular financing to purchase inventory, meet supplier obligations and sustain operations while waiting for customers to pay.
Mastercard’s collaboration with Boost, launched in 2024 across six African markets, combines digital payment wallets with embedded supply-chain financing for distributors, wholesalers and retailers.
The model reflects an emerging approach in which payment services are linked with other financial tools to support businesses throughout their operating cycle.
For Ghanaian SMEs, the opportunity lies in connecting payments, inventory management and financing in ways that help businesses maintain cash flow and respond to changing demand.
However, digital transaction records alone do not guarantee loan approval or lower borrowing costs. Their value will depend on lenders’ assessment systems, the quality of the data and the terms of financing offered.
Ghana’s digital economy needs stronger merchant participation
The scale of Ghana’s mobile money market provides an opportunity to deepen digital commerce, but the benefits will remain limited if businesses cannot easily accept payments through the channels their customers prefer.
In 2025, Mastercard opened its first office in Accra, with its activities in the market including efforts to expand payment acceptance and strengthen digital security.
Collaborations involving Kalabash, Boost, Smile ID and Access Bank are among the initiatives supporting payment acceptance, business services and identity verification. Mastercard has also used its Fintech Forum and Fraud and Cyber Resilience Forum to engage stakeholders on financial technology and security issues.
These efforts come as businesses face growing pressure to serve customers across physical shops, e-commerce platforms, social media and cross-border markets.
For the economy, expanding merchant participation could support more formal business records, improve the visibility of commercial activity and create opportunities for enterprises to grow beyond their existing customer base.
Nevertheless, progress will require coordinated action from financial institutions, payment service providers, regulators and business associations to address transaction costs, fraud concerns, digital skills and access to suitable technology.
Turning payment growth into economic value
Ghana’s mobile money expansion demonstrates that consumers are increasingly using digital financial services. The more difficult task is ensuring that businesses can capture the commercial benefits of that growth.
For SMEs, digital payment adoption should be measured not only by the number of transactions processed but also by whether businesses can reduce administrative burdens, improve cash flow, access finance and increase sales.
Closing the gap between consumer usage and merchant acceptance could help more enterprises participate in the formal economy and compete in a market where convenience and speed increasingly influence purchasing decisions.
The central economic opportunity is to turn Ghana’s expanding digital payment infrastructure into a practical tool for business growth, job creation and stronger private-sector participation in the economy.
