Removing the e-Levy will improve our business operations

The Minister-designate of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, during his recent audit, announced plans to abolish e-debit in the government’s first budget.

Speaking to Citi Business News during the induction ceremony of the association’s new officers, MoMAG President Edward Ofori Agyemang said the removal of e-debit would encourage customer deposits, which had previously declined in reason for the collection.

“Now that the government has announced that it is going to abolish it (electronic debit), it is a happy moment for us and it will improve our business. When there was no e-debit, people came to agents to deposit money and sent it through their wallets. But when they introduced e-debit, when people come, they say that we, the agents, should send the money directly because they want to avoid e-debit.

“We are fighting for the government to remove e-debit and we thank God that the government is going to remove e-debit and that will help us. We also encourage more consumers to deposit money into their wallets,” he added.

The e-debit, introduced as a tax on electronic financial transactions, has attracted widespread criticism from citizens and businesses.

This was seen as a hindrance to the adoption of digital payment systems, particularly among the unbanked population who relied heavily on mobile money services.

Industry players believe that the elimination of this tax will not only boost the use of mobile money but also contribute to broader economic activities, as more people will be inclined to use digital platforms to carry out transactions.

The Bank of Ghana has meanwhile charged stakeholders in the mobile money sector to prioritize safeguarding the sector and ensuring its sustainable growth.

Director of Financial Technology and Innovation at the Central Bank, Kwame Oppong, highlighted that mobile money services are key to advancing financial inclusion and expanding access to financial services for underserved populations.

“The lessons I learned from her (Mrs. Eli Ohene Adu), even to those who have dreamed of this happening in Ghana and those who have traveled this journey, is that we collaborate and ensure that we can carefully build a regulatory framework. this ensures that as a central bank, no matter what we do, a regulator remains a regulator. We need to protect individuals and the sector first, and then we also need to figure out, as part of that equation, how we help you grow,” he said.

Kwame Oppong further revealed that Ghana has been ranked as the best in the world in mobile money regulation, according to the GSMA 2024 Mobile Money Regulation Index (MMRI).