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Expanding Female Mobile Money Usage in Ghana
Expanding Female Mobile Money Usage in Ghana
Expanding Female Mobile Money Usage in Ghana
CONNECTED WOMEN
financial inclusion.1 Despite To encourage the digitisation 2. World Bank, Global Findex 2017: https://
globalfindex.worldbank.org/
its capacity to widen access of merchant payments
3. Scheiterle and Birner, 2018, ‘Gender, knowledge
to financial services, mobile in these markets — the and power: A case study of Market Queens
money has not proven to be economic lifeblood of the in Ghana”
Ghana’s market context: The path to MoMo Pay The impact of MoMo Pay
mobile money and merchants adoption for customers on women in Ghana
Page 5 to7 Page 9 to 13 Page 19 to 22
CONNECTED WOMEN CASE STUDY
There is evidence that MTN MoMo their financial inclusion. Second, it Pay addresses barriers to using
Pay is providing two important drives greater mobile money use mobile money when paying market
and distinct benefits to women in and engagement among female merchants, including cost and lack
Ghana, particularly those who work customers. This study found that, of convenience, and has commercial
as vendors in the open markets. after adopting MoMo Pay, customers benefits for merchants that offer the
First, MoMo Pay empowers female increased both the frequency and service and actively promote it to
microentrepreneurs in markets value of transactions and became their customers.
through the digitisation of their more likely to remain active
transactions, thus deepening users, especially women. MoMo
Research scope:
Evaluating the impact of MoMo Pay
This case study assesses the impact was conducted in January and Additionally, in some cases survey
of MoMo Pay on female merchants February 2019, and may not reflect responses and data relating to MoMo
and customers in Ghana. It also subsequent changes to the market or Pay could not be fully distinguished
includes key takeaways relevant the MoMo Pay service. from those relating to peer-to-peer
for other mobile money providers (P2P) transactions with vendors, so
interested in using a merchant This case study considers MoMo some quantitative and qualitative
payment service to expand women’s Pay as a service overall, but where findings for MoMo Pay may include
mobile money uptake and use, possible, focuses on the uptake and some element of P2P.
and to reduce churn. The results of use of MoMo Pay in open markets
this study are drawn from a mixed specifically. It is in this market Throughout this report, “MoMo Pay
methods approach, including a context that we discovered the users” or “MoMo Pay customers”
quantitative telephone survey, greatest impacts on women, but our refer to MTN Mobile Money
qualitative research in markets with research also revealed several factors customers that have completed
MoMo Pay merchants, users and that limit the uptake of MoMo Pay at least one transaction with the
non-users, as well as analysis of within this context, and, therefore, MoMo Pay service, while “MoMo Pay
MTN Mobile Money transactional its impact on women. Findings merchants” refers to vendors that
data combined with feedback therefore may not fully reflect all have registered a MoMo Pay account
from MTN Ghana staff. Fieldwork aspects and relevant considerations and have received at least one MoMo
and data analysis for this report for merchant payment services. Pay payment from a customer.
2
Key findings from the research
1. MoMo Pay has shown considerable early success in driving digitisation of payments in Ghana’s cash-dominated
economy. 53 per cent of merchants now accepting MoMo Pay only accepted cash from customers before
adopting the service.
2. Merchants are critical to driving consumer awareness and uptake of MoMo Pay. In Ghana’s female-dominated
open markets, where 56 per cent of merchants who have adopted MoMo Pay are women, these merchants are
driving uptake and use of the service among female customers.
3. MoMo Pay is popular with both male and female users, who find it reduces many of the barriers that have
prevented them from paying merchants using mobile money, and they perceive it as simpler, safer, cheaper and
clearer to use than peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers.
4. Adoption of MoMo Pay by customers increases use of MTN Mobile Money overall, particularly for women. Female
MoMo Pay users have on average registered a 17 per cent increase in transaction volumes, 29 per cent increase
in transaction values and a 10 per cent increase in subscriber retention in the six months after they adopted the
service. MoMo Pay is generally adopted by existing MTN Mobile Money customers, and has not been a major
driver of initial adoption of the service.
5. Limited awareness and understanding MoMo Pay amongst customers and merchants have prevented wider
uptake of the service. This could potentially be addressed by more clearly advocating the features and benefits
of the service, as well as considering female-specific requirements - particularly in a context where women's real
or perceived digital literacy is lower than men's.
6. The example of MoMo Pay suggests that merchant payments can be a use case for increasing women’s mobile
money use when deployed in female-dominated retail channels where there is more opportunity to reach female
merchants and customers.
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CONNECTED WOMEN CASE STUDY
Figure 1
Madina market Madina market Madina market MoMo Pay All MoMo Pay
(urban Accra) (urban Accra) (urban Accra) merchants transactions made
• 6 with merchants • 2 with merchants • 12 with • 500 (250 men, • Jan 2017 –
• 6 with MoMo • 1 with MoMo Pay businesses 250 women) Dec 2018
Pay users and non- users
non-users Kasao market MoMo Pay All MTN Mobile
Kasao market (peri-urban Accra) users Money transactions
Kasao market (peri-urban Accra) • 10 with market • 500 (250 men, for ~100,000 MoMo
(peri-urban Accra) • 1 with MoMo Pay businesses 250 women) Pay users*
• 7 with merchants merchants • Jan 2017 –
• 6 with MoMo • 2 with MoMo Pay Kaneshi market MoMo Pay Sep 2018
Pay users and users (peri-urban Accra) non-users
non-users All MTN Mobile
• 12 with market • 500 (250 men,
Money transactions
businesses 250 women)
for ~100,000 non-
users*
• Jan 2017 –
Dec 2018
The qualitative research in this study focused in and around Accra, as this is where most MoMo Pay users, both
merchants and customers, are located. However, results from the telephone survey and transactional analysis
are representative of MTN’s customer base across Ghana.
Fieldwork was conducted in February 2019.
*Note that the results of transactional data analysis that are presented in this report are based on data for a smaller subsample of MTN customers
whose gender could be independently verified, totalling 9,500 MoMo Pay users, and 500 non-users. However, analysis of the wider sample indicated
that results from this subsample were in-line with those observed in the overall base.
4
Ghana’s market context:
Mobile money and merchants
Mobile money has grown quickly in Ghana, but access for women remains lower
Mobile money was first launched some research suggests that access Given evidence of the potential
in Ghana in 2009 by MTN. Uptake to mobile money in Ghana has not socio-economic benefits of financial
has increased quickly since then, necessarily been equally distributed: inclusion and mobile money use,6
and today Ghana is one of the most according to Findex, in 2017, women women’s exclusion from Ghana’s
mature mobile money markets were 23 per cent less likely than men formal financial system is of
outside East Africa. In 2012 there were to have a mobile money account5 particular concern.
only 345,000 active mobile money – although a phone survey of MTN
accounts in Ghana, and by March 2019 Mobile Money customers conducted 4. Bank of Ghana, Payment System Statistics 1st Quarter 2019
this had grown to 12.7 million,4 for this study found a more equal 5. World Bank, Global Findex 2017,
https://globalfindex.worldbank.org/
— a rapid pace of growth. However, gender balance. 6. See, for example, Suri and Jack, 2016
‘The long-run poverty and gender impacts of mobile money’
5
CONNECTED WOMEN CASE STUDY
9. Pasti, F. and Nautiyal, A. (2019). Addressing the financial services needs of MSMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa, GSMA.
7
CONNECTED WOMEN CASE STUDY
Figure 2
Figure 3
8
The path to MoMo Pay adoption
for customers
“
In Ghana, cash remains by far the
most common way to pay vendors.
The phone survey conducted for this Paying with cash is
research found that, among MTN faster; it is instant. But with
Mobile Money customers that have paying with mobile money,
not used MoMo Pay, only 24 per cent you have to go through
some processes, unlike
”
of men and 20 per cent of women
reported ever having paid a vendor paying with cash.
with mobile money – though this
does suggest that, at the time of this
25 year-old male cash customer
research, P2P was more commonly with a smartphone, Kasoa
used to pay vendors than MoMo Pay.
9
CONNECTED WOMEN CASE STUDY
Figure 4
Fees are perceived as too high, especially for smaller transactions which have a fixed minimum fee.
Figure 5
10
MoMo Pay helps address the barriers to mobile
money use in open markets
MoMo Pay users identified several identified several important benefits In particular, MoMo Pay significantly
advantages of the service over to using MoMo Pay instead of cash. reduces the concern that there are
alternative payment methods, too many types of fees, especially
especially P2P transfers. For those These benefits helped MoMo Pay disproportionately large fees for small-
already using mobile money to pay users overcome several barriers that value transactions. It also helps make
vendors, these provided an incentive otherwise prevented respondents from mobile money quicker to use, and
to shift to MoMo Pay, but users also using mobile money to pay merchants. therefore more convenient in markets.
Figure 6
Compared to P2P transfers, the main perceived benefits of MoMo Pay are:
Security: Transactions are perceived to be more secure, particularly due to the use of a merchant code rather than a phone number
Cost: Lower customer fees (0.2 per cent versus one per cent)
Clarity: Less misunderstanding over fees since a standardised fee is charged regardless of the transaction value
Compared to cash, MoMo Pay is perceived has having two main advantages:
Curiosity, and greater speed and convenience than P2P transfers, are key to initial
uptake of MoMo Pay
It is important to distinguish between sample of MoMo Pay users found that of MoMo Pay amongst consumers
the main benefits MoMo Pay users reasons for initial adoption differed relate to speed and convenience. It is
derive once they start using the in several key ways from the main noteworthy that lower fees for MoMo
service, and why they decided to benefits identified in the qualitative Pay relative to P2P were identified less
adopt the service in the first place. research. As Figure 7 shows, two of frequently as a reason for adopting
A quantitative survey with a random the three main reasons for adoption MoMo Pay.
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CONNECTED WOMEN CASE STUDY
Figure 7
90%
Faster than P2P
88%
84%
Curiosity
83%
More convenient 36%
than cash 38%
18%
Selllers suggested it
15%
10%
Safer than cash
10%
Female
8%
Lower fees than P2P
8% Male
2%
Safer than P2P Source: Phone survey
2% of MoMo Pay users,
N=250 men and
Friend/family 2% 250 women
recommendation 2%
Overall, men and women began (see Figure 7), they are critical in and promote MoMo Pay are critical to
using MoMo Pay for similar reasons, driving initial awareness of the service. driving uptake amongst consumers.
although suggestions by sellers were 40 per cent of MoMo Pay users This suggests that having more
slightly more important for women found out about the service through merchants showcasing and promoting
than men. While the influence of a seller of some kind (see Figure a merchant payment service is crucial
vendors was identified as just the 8), although not primarily market to raising customer awareness and
fourth most important driver overall vendors. Therefore, vendors that use increasing uptake of the service.
Figure 8
21%
Non-market vendor
46%
39%
Advertisement
22%
22%
Friends or family
16%
2%
MTN agent
4%
4%
Market merchant
2%
MTN employee at 3%
service centres 2%
4%
MTN phone menu
2% Female
3%
MTN field agent Male
2%
2%
Don’t know Source: Phone survey
3% of MoMo Pay users,
0% N= 250 men and
Other 250 women
0%
12
Customer barriers to MoMo pay adoption:
Merchant support in markets is key
The influence of MoMo Pay merchants lack of support from open market reinforces the crucial role merchants
on service adoption becomes even merchants, either not promoting the play in customers’ initial awareness
more apparent when barriers to service clearly or being reluctant of MoMo Pay, as discussed in the
consumer adoption are considered. to teach customers how to use it, previous section.
Our qualitative research found that is a major barrier to uptake. This
Figure 9
“
I think anyone who
”
wants your [merchant] ID
wants to defraud you.
28 year-old female MoMo Pay merchant
with a basic phone, Madina market
“
Yes, it is too much
work, just one thing you have
to explain and teach a lot of
”
times, it’s time wasting
25 year-old female MoMo Pay merchant
with a feature phone, Madina market
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CONNECTED WOMEN CASE STUDY
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Focus on MoMo Pay merchants
Merchants play a crucial role in driving customer adoption and use of MoMo Pay
driving consumer uptake and use • Understanding MoMo Pay and being
Merchants have the of MoMo Pay than others. Typically, able to explain it to customers;
opportunity to promote the most important determinants of
a merchant’s success were certain • Providing a high level of customer
MoMo Pay to a large number service and using MoMo Pay as
behaviours rather than characteristics
of customers, and branding and demographics, including gender. an opportunity to strengthen
for the service in shops and customer loyalty with those
In general, the level of engagement,
customers that prefer to transact
market stalls is an important customer service and willingness
with MoMo Pay;
way to raise awareness to support customers in using the
service were key factors that were • Offering customers the chance
amongst consumers. associated with merchants being to start using it, for instance, by
strong ambassadors for MoMo Pay. conducting a low-value dummy
transaction to illustrate how the
However, this research found that The qualitative research identified service works; and
the extent to which merchants were several important behaviours:
effective ambassadors for MoMo • Typically accepting high-value
Pay varied greatly. Some merchants • Being willing to assist customers transactions (due to selling high-
were significantly more effective at with their first MoMo Pay transfer; cost goods).
Merchants’ characteristics
and demographics were
less inherently important
than these behaviours
Figure 10
71%
53%
47%
43%
Source: Phone survey of MoMo Pay merchants. N=170 for open air market merchants and 330 for non-market merchants
16
Merchant use of MoMo Pay: Barriers and drivers
Merchant recruitment is an important understanding of MoMo Pay and MTN Mobile Money as customers as
component of any merchant payment helping them overcome initial hurdles well as offering it as a payment option
service.10 To ensure a service is widely to adoption. for their customers. However, there
available and adopted, it is important are some important considerations
to register a large number of Merchants face some of the same that are unique to merchants.
merchants. As discussed in previously, initial barriers to MoMo Pay adoption
merchants have an important role as their customers, and the qualitative 10. https://www.cgap.org/research/publication/challenge-
to play in consumer awareness and interviews revealed they often use two-sided-markets-merchant-payments
Customer requests are the main reason merchants initially adopt MoMo Pay
As with consumers, the factors that It is interesting to observe a “virtuous triggering merchants to adopt MoMo
initially trigger a merchant to adopt circle” of MoMo Pay uptake, whereby Pay. This was followed, for female
MoMo Pay are not necessarily the same merchants promote the service merchants, by the greater safety of
benefits they experience from using and teach customers how to use it, using MoMo Pay than carrying cash,
the service. As shown in Figure 11, the and customer requests encourage which was a slightly more important
phone survey of MoMo Pay merchants merchants to offer and continue using factor than for men. The convenience
found that customer requests were the service. of having a separate account for
the main reason they initially offered business transactions also emerged
the service, as an option for payment, The lower cost of MoMo Pay, most as an important factor, ring fencing
rather than any specific benefit of the notably the ability to transfer funds business funds from everyday
service. This was especially the case to a bank account for free, was spending and improving business
for male merchants. the second most important factor accounting practices.
Figure 11
Source: Phone survey of MoMo Pay merchants. N= 327 for men and 173 for women. Respondents could select multiple responses.
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CONNECTED WOMEN CASE STUDY
MoMo Pay has substantial Day-to-day impacts on merchants MoMo Pay, but most did not use it in
their business. Fifty-three per cent
benefits for merchants who • Greater control over personal and of current MoMo Pay merchants
understand the service business finances, as they can be did not accept any mobile money
separated more easily; payments from customers before
The qualitative research found that • Greater security since funds are they adopted MoMo Pay, accepting
merchants who use MoMo Pay often stored digitally; and cash payments only. All these
reap substantial benefits. Although not merchants now accept mobile money
all merchants fully understood the • Greater privacy from being able to payments via MoMo Pay, which
service, and therefore did not benefit provide a merchant ID to customers suggests that the service not only
fully from its features, many found instead of a phone number. reaches merchants that already used
day-to-day advantages, such as greater mobile money in their businesses
security, privacy and ease of control via P2P transfers, but also those
over finances, as the service allowed Economic impacts on merchants who had previously only used cash.
them to have separate consumer and This demonstrates that MoMo Pay is
• Greater productivity due to
business accounts. Many merchants helping to drive the digitisation
time savings;
also reported saving time, improving of commerce in Ghana.
their accounting and ultimately • Higher sales from impulse
increasing sales. Many merchants also purchases (due to lower
valued the ability to pay their suppliers transaction costs for small Barriers to merchant
using MTN Mobile Money, either through transactions and less need to uptake of MoMo Pay
P2P transfers or with MoMo Pay. carry cash to make purchases);
“
• Stronger value proposition Despite the benefits that merchants
There’s no arguments for customers; reported, several barriers still prevent
over money between the many merchants from adopting
• Improved accounting
shopkeeper and customer, MoMo Pay. These relate primarily to
practices; and
awareness and understanding of the
as to whether the right service, or the challenge of registering
• More business savings due to free
amount was paid or not. No
”
cash-out from bank account. for it. Some merchants also expressed
misunderstanding. reluctance to spend time teaching
Many MoMo Pay merchants used a customers how to use the service
24 years old, Female MoMo Pay merchant
with a smartphone, Kasoa market
mobile money service as consumers and did not see a sufficient incentive
in their daily lives before adopting to do so.
Figure 12
18
Pen Portrait: Ama, MoMo Pay merchant, Madina Market
Ama is one of the many open leaving her shop, increasing the
market merchants who sells clothes amount of time she can spend
in Madina Market, a large market attending to her customers. For her,
area at the centre of Ghana’s capital, the future of payments is MoMo Pay.
Accra. Ama’s motto is simple:
“The customer is king.” She offers
excellent customer service by
providing different payment options “If the person
to her clientele to ensure a smooth doesn’t know how
transaction. She promotes MoMo to go about making
“When I wasn’t taking mobile Pay for its ease of use and even such payments with
money, I kept losing my customers, teaches customers how to use it. their wallets even
but now people pay through though they have
Ama loves MoMo Pay because of its
mobile money if they don’t have ease of use and lower charges than money on their
cash on them. I think mobile P2P transfers. She has connected wallets, I educate
money is safer because you never her MoMo Pay wallet to her bank them on how to
lose the money on it whether your account to enable her to save, and go about it since
phone gets lost or stolen.” uses it to pay her suppliers without it is easier.”
Pen Portraits represent a composite of findings from respondents. Please note that all names have been changed.
MoMo Pay drives more regular and diverse use of MTN Mobile Money services
After customers adopted MoMo Pay, Our qualitative research also like Jumia and Kikuu, paying bills
several effects were observed that led demonstrated that particularly and buying airtime and accessing
them to rely more heavily on MTN engaged users, both male and female, loans like the MTN Qwik loan (see
Mobile Money, maintain a higher began using Mobile Money in other Figure 13).
balance in their mobile account and ways, such as connecting their bank
spend more using mobile money. account to their Mobile Money For many of these subscribers, MoMo
Some of the more engaged users of account, ordering home deliveries, Pay was a catalyst for increased
MoMo Pay were also acutely aware of saving through an MTN Y’ello Save Mobile Money use and engagement
the indirect savings MoMo Pay account and using Mobile Money for overall, particularly when it prompted
provided, such as reduced travel leisure applications, such as paying them to connect their account to a
times and cost that would otherwise for Uber ride sharing, making bank account.
be needed to acquire cash. purchases through e-commerce sites
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CONNECTED WOMEN CASE STUDY
Figure 13
1. Effect of MoMo Pay 2. Resultant changes 3. New Mobile Money use cases
adoption in Mobile Money adopted, particularly after
behaviour connecting a bank account
11. Transaction volumes and values were on average found to increase over time for MTN Mobile Money customers who continued to transact. The figures here describe the growth for MoMo Pay
customers in excess of the rate of growth seen in the base overall. This growth can therefore be more confidently attributed to the adoption of MoMo Pay, rather than representing a natural upward
trend.
20
Figure 14
Change in transaction behaviour of MoMo Pay adopters six months after adoption,
in excess of change in the overall base
+29%
+25%
Despite the barriers to MoMo Pay expanded use of MTN Mobile Money. well as delivering notable commercial
adoption for customers and merchants This provides advantages both to the returns for MTN through increased
alike, for those that do adopt the customers and merchants who benefit transactions and improved subscriber
service it is a significant driver of from deeper financial inclusion, as retention (see Figure 14).
Pen Portraits represent a composite of findings from respondents. Please note all names have been changed.
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CONNECTED WOMEN CASE STUDY
22
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CONNECTED WOMEN CASE STUDY
The GSMA represents the interests of mobile GSMA’s Connected Women programme works with
operators worldwide, uniting more than 750 operators mobile operators and their partners to address
with almost 400 companies in the broader mobile the barriers to women accessing and using mobile
ecosystem, including handset and device makers, internet and mobile money services. Connected
software companies, equipment providers and Women aims to reduce the gender gap in mobile
internet companies, as well as organisations in internet and mobile money services and unlock
adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also significant commercial opportunities for the mobile
produces the industry-leading MWC events held industry and socio-economic benefits for women.
annually in Barcelona, Los Angeles and Shanghai, as
well as the Mobile 360 Series of regional conferences. For more information, please visit
www.gsma.com/connectedwomen
For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate
website at www.gsma.com
Authors: Oliver Rowntree Contributors: Anne Delaporte, Dominica Lindsey, Adrine Muhura, Nika Naghavi, Orla Ryan, Matt Shanahan
Fieldwork and insights partner: BFA Global