Ghana’s payment systems recorded sharp growth in 2025, with mobile money and instant electronic transfers consolidating their position as the backbone of everyday transactions, according to new data from the Bank of Ghana.
By December 2025, the number of registered mobile money accounts rose to 80.5 million, up from 73.0 million a year earlier, while active accounts increased to 26.7 million, signalling deeper usage rather than just sign-ups.
The value of mobile money transactions surged to GHS 518.4 billion in December, the highest monthly figure recorded in the year, compared with GHS 334.8 billion in December 2024.
Transaction volumes also climbed sharply. Mobile money platforms processed 982 million transactions in December 2025, up from 745 million transactions a year earlier, underlining the system’s central role in retail payments.
Interoperability continued to expand. Mobile money interoperability transactions reached GHS 5.8 billion in value, with 28.7 million transactions, reflecting growing confidence in cross-platform transfers. Meanwhile, the GhIPSS Instant Pay (GIP) system processed transactions worth GHS 73.3 billion in December 2025, up from GHS 45.5 billion in December 2024, with transaction volumes rising from 16.6 million to 21.2 million over the same period.
Traditional instruments, such as cheques, continued their gradual decline. Cheque transactions stood at 462,000 in December 2025, with a value of GHS 37.3 billion, broadly flat compared with earlier months but well below digital channels in volume.
Payment infrastructure also expanded. Point-of-sale terminals increased to 18,117, while ATM numbers stabilised at 2,272, suggesting a shift toward merchant payments rather than cash withdrawals.
The Bank of Ghana says the data reflects a structural change in payment behaviour, driven by convenience, speed and policy efforts to promote cash-lite transactions.
