There is no debate that Mobile money (MoMo) has become one of Ghana’s biggest financial success stories, bringing millions of people into the formal financial system. It has also made it possible to send money, pay bills, receive salaries, and conduct business with just a mobile phone.
But as the industry continues to grow at an unprecedented pace, banking and financial analyst Dr. Richmond Atuahene is warning that the very system that has transformed financial inclusion could also become a source of a major threat if emerging risks are not addressed through stronger regulation and oversight.
Drawing on the latest industry data, Dr. Atuahene notes that MTN Ghana controlled 81.29% of the country’s mobile data subscriptions as of February 2026, while its Mobile Money platform serves more than 19.3 million active users, making it the dominant player in Ghana’s digital finance ecosystem.
According to him, the rapid expansion of mobile money has effectively turned telecom operators into institutions performing functions that increasingly resemble those of banks, creating new risks that extend beyond the telecommunications sector and into the broader economy.
Dr. Atuahene argues that while mobile money remains indispensable to Ghana’s economic development, policymakers must now pay closer attention to four critical challenges that could threaten the economy in the long-term.
The Systemic Risk
Dr. Atuahene explains that millions of Ghanaians now depend on mobile money every day to buy food, pay school fees, settle utility bills, receive remittances and run businesses. As a result, any prolonged technical outage, operational failure or financial distress affecting a dominant provider could ripple through the entire economy.
He likens Ghana’s financial system to a spider’s web where disturbing one section causes vibrations across the entire network. Because banks, telecom companies, merchants, and consumers are now closely interconnected through digital payments, problems affecting one major mobile money operator could quickly spread across the financial system.
The concentration of such a large share of digital transactions on a single platform, he says, creates a “too-big-to-fail” situation that deserves closer attention from regulators.
Cybersecurity and Digital Fraud
As more financial transactions migrate onto mobile phones, cybercriminals are finding new opportunities to exploit unsuspecting users through SIM swap fraud, phishing, social engineering and account takeovers.
Dr. Atuahene notes that mobile money fraud accounts for the overwhelming majority of reported financial fraud cases in Ghana, warning that a large-scale cyberattack could not only result in substantial financial losses but also undermine public confidence in the country’s rapidly expanding digital economy.
He says the strength of digital finance depends heavily on public trust, and therefore adds that stronger cybersecurity systems and consumer protection measures are becoming just as important as expanding access.
Monetary Policy and Economic Control
According to the financial analyst, as more people keep funds in mobile wallets instead of traditional bank accounts, the Bank of Ghana could find it increasingly difficult to influence the supply of money through conventional policy tools.
He compares the situation to water flowing through a network of pipes. If too much of the flow is diverted into alternative channels, the pressure in the main system weakens.
Likewise, as mobile money increasingly functions as a store of value alongside payment services, the central bank may face greater challenges in transmitting monetary policy effectively, with implications for inflation management and interest rates.
Concerns Over Fees and Fairness
Although interoperability has made it easier to transfer money across different mobile networks and banks, Dr. Atuahene cautions that transaction charges can become burdensome for low-income households and small businesses that rely heavily on digital payments.
He says reviewing fee structures would help ensure that the benefits of financial inclusion are not gradually eroded by rising transaction costs, particularly for vulnerable users who conduct numerous small-value transactions every day.
Beyond these four risks, Dr. Atuahene also raises concerns about what he describes as a growing “shadow banking” phenomenon, where telecom operators manage enormous mobile money float balances that rival those of traditional financial institutions.
While these funds are held in trust by licensed banks, he argues that the operational control and scale of the ecosystem have created regulatory gaps that deserve closer scrutiny as mobile money assumes an increasingly central role in Ghana’s financial system.
The Bottomline
Dr. Atuahene is calling on the Financial Stability Council and financial regulators to strengthen oversight of the country’s mobile money ecosystem by adopting proactive measures to address systemic risk, improve cybersecurity, preserve monetary policy effectiveness and ensure fair pricing for consumers.
The objective, he says, is not to slow Ghana’s digital finance revolution but to make it more resilient.
He believes the next phase of its growth must be accompanied by stronger safeguards capable of protecting both consumers and the broader economy.
