By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
A new report on the adoption of digital financial services by business firms in Ghana, released jointly by Retail Finance Distribution (ReFinD) and the Institute for Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER), with support from the Ghana Statistical Service, has revealed that only 37% of businesses in Ghana currently accept or use digital payments.
According to the report, the agricultural sector records the lowest level of digital payment adoption.
The report further explains that digital payment adoption and usage are highly uneven, largely concentrated in Greater Accra and other regional capitals. It adds that female managers significantly boost both revenue and merchant account adoption and usage.
The report highlights several key barriers to the adoption and usage of digital payments, including knowledge gaps, fraud concerns, and perceived uncertain returns.
It notes that significant gaps in adoption and usage exist across firm sizes, sectors, levels of formality, and geographic locations. To address these disparities, the report recommends that policymakers implement targeted interventions.
These interventions may include enhancing firms’ understanding of the benefits of adoption and usage, strengthening fraud prevention mechanisms, and creating incentive structures for sector-specific digital payment systems and improved cybersecurity.
According to the report, such measures are crucial for building public trust.
Delivering the keynote address on behalf of the First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), the Director of Fintech and Innovation, Mr. Kwame Oppong, emphasised that the findings will play a critical role in shaping policies aimed at deepening financial inclusion.
He noted that, despite progress in financial inclusion, challenges persist—highlighted by a widening gender and digital inclusion gap—making the report’s findings timely and essential.
“I do not doubt that the findings from this research will inform policy and make our approaches to financial inclusion more effective,” the Director of Fintech and Innovation at BoG stated.
Sharing his thoughts on the report, the Director of ISSER, Prof. Peter Quartey, noted:
“There are several reasons for the low adoption and usage of digital payments. One is uncertainty in the business environment. There’s also the cost element and taxation, among other constraints. But overall, leveraging digital financial inclusion is one of the surest ways of including the unbanked in financial services.”
