Digital payments remain underutilized in Ghanaian businesses, according to a recent report, with just 37% adopting this technology.
In a significant report, the focus is on deepening financial inclusion, particularly in the agriculture sector, where digital payment adoption lags behind. The report, timely and essential for crafting more effective solutions, according to Kwame Oppong, Director of Fintech and Innovation at the Bank of Ghana, emphasizes the need to tackle structural issues like tax burdens and infrastructure gaps to promote digital payment adoption.
The report highlights the challenges facing agriculture firms in Ghana, which show the lowest adoption rates of digital payments. Limited digital infrastructure in rural farming areas, lower trust and familiarity with digital financial tools among farmers, and the prevalence of informal, trust-based transaction networks in the agricultural supply chain are some of the factors impeding adoption.
To address these issues and deepen financial inclusion, the report suggests several strategies:
- Enhance rural digital infrastructure to improve internet and mobile connectivity essential for mobile money and digital payments.
- Promote tailored digital financial solutions that align with existing informal and trust-based farming networks, building on farmers’ traditional business practices to foster trust and usability.
- Support capacity building and digital literacy programs focused on agricultural communities to improve familiarity and confidence in using digital payments.
- Facilitate partnerships between fintechs, agribusinesses, and financial institutions to create products catering specifically to agricultural needs such as crop loans and insurance verified via innovative technologies like satellite data.
- Streamline regulatory frameworks to support fintech innovation and interoperability, ensuring clear policies that encourage competition and reduce barriers for digital payment adoption in agriculture.
- Leverage AI and data-driven technologies (e.g., satellite monitoring, blockchain) to provide real-time advisory and financial services, making digital adoption more beneficial and viable for agribusinesses in Ghana.
While Ghana has high overall mobile money adoption (30 million registered accounts, high data penetration), these advantages have not fully translated to the agricultural sector. Learning from Nigeria’s approach of using hyperlocal, trust-based fintech services could provide a blueprint for Ghana to unlock agricultural digital payment uptake and deepen financial inclusion.
The report also addresses other factors holding back digital payment adoption, such as perceived lack of returns on digital investments, fraud concerns, and knowledge gaps about digital tools. To address these issues, the report urges policymakers to educate firms on the benefits of digital payments and strengthen cybersecurity to build trust in digital payments.
Despite progress, gaps remain, particularly in gender and digital access, according to Kwame Oppong. The report is crucial for addressing these gaps and providing insights for crafting effective solutions to the challenges in digital payment adoption.
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