Leadership of the Mobile Money Agents Association of Ghana has revealed a staggering 17,000 mobile money businesses across the country collapsed following the implementation of the electronic transaction levy (E-levy).
In its internal survey conducted after the roll-out of the levy, the association says a significant number of its members abandoned their businesses owing to several levy deductions on transactions either through the banks and/or between fellow agents.
The survey conducted between 2022 and 2023 sampled over 1,000 respondents across the country, where they were questioned on the impact of the levy on their working capital, their profit margins before and after the levy rollout, the volumes of transactions made daily, and concerns from customers following the implementation of the levy.
General Secretary of the Association, Evans Otumfuo, explained an appreciable number of mobile money agents in the country had their working capital reduced drastically due to the hefty taxations.
“Agents were subjected to various forms of levy deductions. Our funds also deal with transfer from one bank to another, or even amongst agents. All of these, there is e-levy applied to them. We lost our working capital. It reduced drastically,” he told Luv FM’s Emmanuel Bright Quaicoe, in an interview.
He continued that, “going round we saw that our people have closed down their shops, even today, amid the other challenges we are faced in the business”.
The erstwhile Akufo-Addo administration introduced the electronic transaction levy after scrapping road tolls in 2022 as an alternative revenue generation source.
But it received public backlash as some Ghanaians called for its abolishment.
During his 2025 budget presentation to parliament, Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson announced scrapping of the ‘controversial’ levy as part of the economic policy of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The association has welcomed the decision by the new government to scrap the levy which it says was “counterproductive” to their businesses.
The MoMo vendors are eagerly anticipating the abrogation of the E-levy Act as they hope the new decision would positively impact their businesses.
“It [e-levy] hasn’t been in the interest of our business so far. So, if it has come to the bold notice of the government to abolish it, we really receive it as good news to the business and we want to really see it being implemented. We are not in support of it. We want to commend government for taking such a bold decision,” Mr. Otumfuo said.