THE TELCO’S DIGITAL PAYMENT SYSTEMS: PERCEPTIONS AND CONCERNS AMONGST HOUSEHOLDS IN ACCRA, GHANA

Perceptions and conerns

Abstract

E-Commerce is one sector that has benefited from the technological transformation of the 3rd and 4th
Industrial Revolution, with the introduction of financial technology. Mobile Money, which is powered by
telecommunications companies, is one of the most popular financial technology platforms. It has become
ubiquitous and is one of the leading payments platforms in many nations, especially in developing countries.
This study, therefore, sought to investigate the perceptions and concerns of users of the Mobile Money
platforms in Ghana. The study assessed and analyzed the views of 50 households, based in the Madina
Municipality in the Greater Accra Region, using questionnaires and interviews in a qualitative approach.
As expected, the study found all the participants knew the Mobile Money platform, with a majority of them
indicating they use it daily for financial transactions. Again, it was found that participants preferred using
the Mobile Money platform for payments, hence hardly used cash. Participants cited reasons such as
convenience and accessibility for the use of the financial technology platform. However, participants
expressed concerns about the security of the platforms, with the fears buttressed by rising cases of
cybercrime. This meant participants had trust concerns, with regards to how secure their money is on the
platform. The poor network was also seen as another issue faced by participants using the mobile money
platforms. On this basis, this study suggests that telecommunications companies should work to improve
the security of their corresponding platforms to win the trust of existing and future consumers and protect
them from cyber fraudsters or other similar risks