Every time a Ghanaian sends mobile money, pays a bill, orders food, books a ride, opens a bank account, buys airtime or scrolls through social media, something else is being created besides the transaction itself: a digital record.
That record can reveal where a person spends money, how often they travel, what they buy, which services they use and, when combined with other information, patterns about their behaviour. In an economy rapidly moving from cash to digital transactions, such information is becoming an increasingly important economic resource.
The scale of Ghana’s digital activity is already significant, driven by robust expansions across telecommunications and electronic banking systems. The National Communications Authority (NCA) highlighted this momentum by reporting that active mobile internet subscriptions reached 29.7 million in early 2026, anchoring a strong national digital penetration rate of 87.7 per cent. In parallel, official data published by the Bank of Ghana underscores the massive footprint of electronic financial infrastructure. According to system metrics and annual evaluations released in the Financial Stability Review, digital transaction values across multiple primary channels, including standard mobile banking apps, internet banking platforms, and localised instant interbank settlement pathways operated by GhIPSS, have consistently maintained aggressive, multi-digit compound year-on-year growth to support deepening economic formalisation.
The numbers matter because every digital transaction leaves information behind.
Yet the question facing consumers is not simply whether companies collect data. It is what they do with it, why they collect it, who they share it with, how long they retain it and how much control the individual has over its use.
Ghana has had a legal framework for addressing these questions since the Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843), came into force in October 2012. The Data Protection Commission says the law governs the collection, use, disclosure, destruction and care of personal data and requires data controllers to register before processing personal information.
The law also gives individuals important rights. The Data Protection Commission says a data subject has the right to know how their information is being processed, the purpose of the processing and the recipients or categories of recipients to whom it may be disclosed. Individuals can also object to certain processing and request access to their personal information.
That means a phone number is not merely a string of digits. When connected to a person’s identity, financial activity, location or online behaviour, it can become part of a much larger personal profile.
For businesses, responsibly processed data can improve services, detect fraud, understand customers and develop products. For consumers, the benefits can include faster transactions, personalised services and greater access to digital finance. Ghana’s growing digital economy therefore depends on the legitimate use of information.
The danger comes when the growth of data outpaces public understanding and institutional safeguards.
A data breach can expose personal information to criminals. Unauthorised sharing can undermine privacy. Poor data management can create opportunities for fraud, identity theft and unwanted marketing. In the long term, increasingly sophisticated data analytics and artificial intelligence could make personal information even more valuable, making strong governance more important rather than less.
The Data Protection Act already requires organisations to take security measures and provides for notification to the Commission and affected individuals where there are reasonable grounds to believe personal data has been accessed or acquired without authorisation.
The Data Protection Commission has also warned that privacy must become part of institutional culture. During its Data Protection Week, Emmanuel Gadasu said, “Building trust is not just about legal compliance; it is about embedding a culture of privacy into the DNA of Ghana’s institutions.”
For Ghana, the economic question is therefore bigger than who owns a database. It is whether citizens understand the value of the information they generate and whether businesses, regulators and government can be trusted to handle it responsibly.
Consumers need clearer privacy notices, stronger digital literacy and greater awareness of their rights. Businesses need to collect only information necessary for legitimate purposes, strengthen cybersecurity and make consent meaningful rather than burying important terms in lengthy policies. Regulators must continue enforcement, improve public education and ensure that breaches and unlawful processing attract consequences.
Ghana is building a digital economy in which information increasingly moves alongside money. The challenge now is to ensure that as the country creates wealth from digitalisation, it does not leave citizens paying the hidden price with their privacy.
The phone number may belong to an individual. The economic value created around that number, however, is becoming part of a much bigger national conversation about power, privacy, trust and who ultimately benefits from Ghana’s data.
