Effective monetisation of the mobile banking channel of banks

By Dr. Prince Osei HYEAMAN-ADDAI

In the wake of the digital innovation mandate, Ghanaian banks must effectively expand focus from adoption and engagement metrics to monetisation. As banks pour substantial resources into mobile-first strategies — leveraging Apps, USSD, and chat-based services — the imperative is clear: translate high transaction volumes and user bases into sustainable revenue streams while delivering customer value.

In February 2026, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama, urged banks to reduce their heavy dependence on net interest income, stating that “as margins compress in a normalising rate environment, earnings resilience will increasingly depend on diversification, particularly through transactional banking, trade services, payments, treasury activities, and other fee-based income streams that are less balance-sheet intensive.”

The mobile banking channel — with its scalability, rich customer data, and direct access to payments and embedded finance — stands out as the most powerful and customer-centric vehicle for delivering this diversification precisely.

Ghana’s mobile ecosystem offers fertile ground. Mobile banking transaction values have grown sharply (GH¢165 billion in 2024, up sharply from GH¢80.4 billion in 2023, amid broader digital payments growth), while the broader mobile money ecosystem reached a record GH¢4.54 trillion in total transaction value for 2025, with December alone recording GH¢518.4 billion. Wallet balances (float) hit GH¢39.6 billion by year-end.

Lessons from MTN MoMo’s GH¢6B revenue success 

A compelling case study is Mobile Money Limited (MTN MoMo or MML). In its audited 2025 full-year results, Mobile Money revenue increased 35.7percent year-on-year to GH¢6.0 billion, driven by a 12.3percent rise in active users to 19.3 million. This performance underscores the massive monetisation potential of digital payment platforms even in Ghana’s highly competitive, interoperable market.

With smartphone penetration rising and internet access exceeding 70percent, mobile channels remain primary touchpoints for customer interactions. Effective monetisation requires identifying diverse income streams, optimising fee structures, and integrating value-added services. MTN MoMo’s GH¢6 billion revenue in 2025 (contributing roughly 25percent of MTN Ghana’s total service revenue of GH¢24.4 billion) provides a powerful blueprint.

Key breakdown: basic vs. advanced services

• Basic Services (primarily cash-in/cash-out, P2P transfers, and standard merchant payments):Revenue grew 27.2percent YoY. Increased transfer volumes notably boosted growth following the abolition of the e-levy, which removed a friction point and encouraged higher use of core payment features, as well as growth in active users.Loyalty programs, which included fee reductions, further boosted sustained growth.
• Advanced Services (digital payments, merchant acquiring/QR payments, lending solutions/micro-credit, insurance, savings/investments, and other value-added fintech offerings):Revenue reached GH¢2.0 billion in 2025, growing strongly by 55.9percent YoY. This segment is the faster-growing and higher-margin driver, reflecting successful upselling of embedded finance and ecosystem features.

Implied Basic Services Revenue (2025): Approximately GH¢4.0 billion (total GH¢6b minus GH¢2b advanced).

Banks can glean useful insights from this and achieve their greatest impact.

Income streams from the mobile banking channel 

We consider further by focusing on the following income streams:

1. Transaction Fees (P2P Transfers, Bill/Utility Payments, and Merchant Services)
   improvements in the number of active users of the mobile banking platform will mean a growth in the use of its basic person-to-person transactions, which include sending to other bank accounts and mobile money wallets. Merchant commission-based bill/utility payments provide a stable income which can grow with stickiness and loyalty. These are fee-based transfers/payments that remain a critical cornerstone.

There is enough evidence that volume, convenience, and the merchant ecosystem drive fees. Banks should prioritise merchant acquiring and QR-based payments to replicate the MML success. Banks’ Apps/USSDs serve as an aggregator platform that consolidates the global mobile money ecosystem and serves absolute convenience.

The ecosystem float play

Allow customers to easily link their bank accounts to their mobile money wallets (or easily send funds from their account to the wallet) for convenience and liquidity flow. The customers with the ability to easily move funds from the bank account to make faster payments to a merchant wallet or to another person’s mobile wallet will always fund their account to continue the cycle of ease and convenience. These users will send their excess funds from the mobile wallet back to their bank accounts, and the cycle repeats unabated.

Businesses will find the highest convenience with this orchestrated float flow, and that pays with growth in deposits and facilitation in other high-ticket transactional banking. Customers are multi-banked and that’s expected. Nonetheless allow those who are your existing customers to attach their other-bank payment cards (and mobile wallets) to your bank App and use it as another source of funds for spending. Make it easier and convenient.

Improve active user base for transaction growth

• Migrate various branch-based customer activities onto the mobile channel and attract the lifestyle of the regular customer. These include card services, cheque services, and insurance/pension subscriptions, investment/savings, log complaints, open additional accounts, etc. When they access these routine services on the go, and conveniently, they will become a good opportunity for other transactional and even fee-based and premium services.
• Loyalty and stickiness programmes will accelerate the convenience and access for customers. Never hesitate to augment zero-fee or reduce fees with frequent/repeat users.
• Allow customers to set up repeat (schedule/standing) transactions and advanced payee/beneficiary setups with zero stress, especially after successfully performing a transaction.
• Help customers manage funds and have utmost visibility of their spend and trend/patterns with a personal finance management resource. This is a powerful tool which can be plugged into exist App frames.

2. Cross-selling and embedded finance (loans, insurance, investments, pensions)

Banks’ “advanced services” such as digital lending, investment, pensions, etc can be embedded with their mobile channel for growth. Mobile-originated fixed deposits, treasury bills, mutual fund subscriptions. Micro-insurance products sold and renewed through mobile App/USSD.

Significant impact can be achieved through a partnership with the mobile money players, including GhanaPay, for actual scale and significant leverage. Banks have a natural advantage here through credit scoring from transaction data and other sources of data through partnership integrations.

Use mobile behavioural data for micro-loans, insurance, or investment products directly in-app. Emerging market examples (e.g., M-Shwari in Kenya) show this can lift ARPU by 20–24percent. PwC and GSMA reports confirm GenAI-driven personalisation reduces risk while boosting uptake.

3. Partnership and platform revenue (merchant acquiring, APIs, white-label)

Worthy partnership and collaboration with Dedicated E-Money Issuers (DEMIs), fintechs and other aggregators is critical for ensuring relevant returns. Partner on products and services for scale. As the channel becomes the greatest for customer footfall, it is the one-stop shop for all use cases, including internal businesses and their offerings.

Partnership APIs that can be plugged into the channel to offer enhanced financial services, which also target customers beyond the existing user base of the bank. Essential services such as health, medicine and ticketing for events, etc can all be hosted in-app to attract customers of all lifestyle categories. Through ecosystem partnerships, banks can white-label platforms, offer API access to fintechs, or aggregate merchant payments.

Trade services and FX transactions leveraging PAPSS and other fintech platforms. Licensing data and services to fintechs via OpenAPI (BaaS), when operational soon.

4. Build the super app ecosystem soon

Allow non-customers (personal and businesses) to access your mobile channel through the ability to attach their payment cards, mobile wallets, even bank accounts and facilitate their spending from the App. These customers will be able to make payments for everything and anything per their lifestyle in a single App interface, which the bank controls. Banks can opt for this strategy by leveraging their existing App or partnership or using a different App built-branded separately. A future article will provide depth on this in Ghana’s context.

5. Add GhanaPay mobile money to your offering

Banks have committed substantial investments into the implementation and deployment of the GhanaPay mobile money platform. This investment must be cherished and driven for the utmost value. Ecosystem partnership with fintechs and mobile money players should be considered, given the interoperable rendition of the GhanaPay channel.

Banks must add this channel to their mobile banking proposition and be committed to the same. How many bank executives have registered for GhanaPay and are using it as part of their use of the regular mobile banking channels? The commitment must be harnessed and intentional at the management level, like the telcos upheld the mobile money channel as part of the regular GSM offering.

Leadership is everything

Banks’ leadership will require more deliberate focus in this area to ensure adequate monetisation of the mobile banking channel leveraging every partnership and innovation resources available. Importantly, the channel will need dedicated support and probably standalone business model to drive quality impact. The MML’s success with the GHc 6B revenue has been an intentional leadership mandate.

The leadership has driven itself and empowered available resources through mobilisation and investments. The growth has just started, and we can tap up to 50percent revenue contribution to the overall group revenue in the shortest possible time.

Conclusion

As Ghana continues its advances toward a cash-lite economy with mobile money handling trillions annually, banks’ mobile channels (bolstered with GhanaPay) represent far more than a service layer: they are a strategic opportunity to answer the Governor’s call for fee-based diversification.

By emulating MTN’s focus on volume-driven transactions, float optimisation, advanced embedded services, and ecosystem partnerships — while leveraging banks’ unique regulatory and data advantages — institutions can achieve robust ROI on digital investments, deepen financial inclusion, and build earnings resilience.

Proactive measurement (building on MAU, retention, ARPU, and Income Impact KPIs) will separate leaders from laggards. Banks that act decisively in 2026 and beyond, learning from telco successes while playing to their strengths, will capture relevant value in Ghana’s evolving digital finance landscape. The time for aggressive mobile monetisation is now.

>>>The writer is a thought leader in digital finance, financial inclusion, retail digital transformation, a leadership-resilience strategist, an AI leader, and a published research author with selected global publications

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