The E-levy in Ghana: Economic Impact Assessment

Friday 10 Mar 2023 | Sub-Saharan Africa | Taxation |

The E-levy in Ghana: Economic Impact Assessment image

The development of the mobile money market has been the catalyst of huge improvements in financial inclusion in Ghana, with the proportion of unbanked population falling from almost 60% in 2014 to 32% in 2021.

The GSMA has produced a report, based on granular data from Ghanaian mobile money providers, which analyses the impact of the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-levy) on mobile money transactions in Ghana in the period from May 2021 to January 2023, in order to capture the evolution of demand and supply of mobile money services before and after the introduction of the E-levy.

The evidence shows that in the nine months following the introduction of the E-levy, mobile money consumers in Ghana have turned away from using mobile money, with consequences for the financial inclusion of the poorest and most vulnerable, for the growth of the mobile money industry and for the wider Ghanaian economy and revenue mobilisation.