The Mobile Money Advocacy Group has assured that steps are being taken to address cases of fraud perpetrated against its members.
The group bemoaned the situation, emphasizing its negative impacts on the volume of transactions conducted and the limited number of agents operating during certain times of the day and in certain areas.
The assurance was given following the arrest of a police officer, General Constable Ernest Agyemang Darko, who defrauded a mobile money agent of GH₵14,460 in Kasoa on November 29, 2023.
In an interview with Citi News, the Director of Operations for the Mobile Money Advocacy Group, Stephen Gorman, also urged mobile money agents to be vigilant in their line of work.
“With regard to the fraud that happened in Kasoa, the police officer actually had the money on him, but I think the agent also didn’t follow the normal protocol of doing the business. In our business, you are supposed to take the money first, count, and be sure of the amount before a deposit is made. However, there is an arrangement for the officer to pay back the money to the agent, and it will be paid in instalments.”
Four MoMo Associations—the Northern MoMo Agents Association of Ghana (NOMAAG), the Mobile Money Advocacy Group (MOMAG), the Mobile Money Agents Association of Ghana (MMAAG), and the ABAG—also announced a temporary measure limiting cash withdrawals to a maximum of GH¢1,000 per transaction.
The decision for the cap took effect on December 1, 2023.
The associations explained in a joint statement that the temporary measure is intended to draw attention to their longstanding concerns regarding inadequate compensation for their services.