Web-based payment solutions will boost financial inclusion – AZA Finance

hanced e ciency, lowered cost and greater adoption of digital nancial solutions on the continent.

Since its introduction in Africa almost 20 years ago, mobile money has evolved to become one of the preferred payment options, resulting in the continent accounting for 70 percent of the US$1 trillion in mobile money processed across the spite of the strides made by mobile money, the emergence of web-based solutions will drive competition as surmounting geographical barriers become easier and the customer would be the better for it. “Moving away from solutions o ered primarily by telcos to web-based o erings takes it global which makes it more competitive and better for which rose to 68 percent in 2021 from 58 percent in 2017, as measured by the 2021 Global Findex, would require signi cant investment to make the internet more accessible across the country.

Noting that access to web-based FinTech solutions remains concentrated in urban and peri-urban centres, she said it highlights room for growth in the adoption we see a heavy concentration on USSD products and similar telco-based solutions but that will change as internet access improves,” she stated. According to analyses by the intelligence arm of the GSM Association and digital technology consultancy, Kepios, the internet penetration rate in the country stood at 53 percent at the begin- ning of the year, from a total ofnections. The rate places Ghana Also in the country’s favour is the comparatively low internet usage cost, as captured in the 2022 Worldwide Mobile Pricing report, which surveyed 233 countries and territories and shows that ve of the 10 most expensive countries (US$10 or more for 1 gigabyte) to buy mobile data in the world are in sub-Saharan Africa, with the same amount of data selling at US$0.61, on average, in Ghana.