BoG meets GRA, financial sector stakeholders over illegal mobile money deductions

The Bank of Ghana today February 6, 2024, met officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority and stakeholders within the financial sector to address concerns regarding unauthorised deductions on mobile money transfers.

This is coming after several mobile money users complained about unauthorized deductions during transactions.

Following the implementation of the Electronic Transfer Levy, some mobile money users have been complaining of deductions which is far more than the authorised 1.0% levy.

Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Communications Committee, Sam George, addressing the media in Parliament on Monday, February 5, 2024, called on the authorities to address the issue with urgency.

He expressed worry about the implementation construction of the e-levy, urging the government to do the needful

I still hold the view that the whole implementation architecture of this e-levy is problematic and the government needs to sit down and understand what it wants to do and not be in a hurry. President Akufo-Addo told us he is in a hurry but he is in a hurry to fail and that is exactly what they are achieving”.

He also revealed the upcoming meeting involving the Bank of Ghana, Electronic Money Issuers (EMIs), telecommunications companies, and banks. The discussion aims to address the systemic issues associated with the ELMAS system.

I am aware there is a meeting where the Bank of Ghana, the EMIs the telcos and the banks are supposed to sit to have a conversation. Because there is a problem with the system that is run.

“They have the ELMAS system or something. And what is happening is the banks and the EMIs are not doing real-time uploads of data to the ELMAS system”, he added.