On the continent usually known for M-Pesa in the payments world, not all citizens are equipped with mobile moneyFrom the Latin word moneta, nickname that was given by Romans to the goddess Juno because there was a minting workshop next to her temple. Money is any item that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular region, country or socio-economic context. Its onset dates back to the origins of humanity and its physical representation has taken on very varied forms until the appearance of metal coins. The banknote, a typical representati... More. On the contrary, cashMoney in physical form such as banknotes and coins. More is still the most popular paymentA transfer of funds which discharges an obligation on the part of a payer vis-à-vis a payee. More tool for most Africans. Alas, getting access to it can sometimes be extremely time consuming and costly.
For example, highly densely populated countries like Nigeria can be equipped with only a couple of ATMs per city, as in the case of the Lagos suburb of Okearo. This forces citizens to wait in long lines without any guarantee that there will be money in the machine once their turn comes up. They rarely have the option to go to a bank as distances can be too great, and the roads unpleasant. The only remaining option is to get cashbackA service whereby the customer pays electronically a higher amount to a retailer than the value of the purchase for goods and/or services and receives the difference in cash. It is also a reward system associated with credit card usage, whereby the consumer receives a percentage of the amount spent on the credit card. More at a local shop, but this can be costly as retailers practice exorbitant fees – amounting to 10-15% of the value withdrawn.
Ghana is living a similar scenario as the country with the lowest number of ATMs per capita (only 72 per million residents!). There have been improvements (the number of ATMs has doubled since 2012), but the efforts are still far from sufficient to satisfy demand.
And although mobile and alternative payments advocates are pushing for greater adoption of their services, changeThis is the action by which certain banknotes and/or coins are exchanged for the same amount in banknotes/coins of a different face value, or unit value. See Exchange. More will probably take decades. It is clear that there’s an urgent need to encourage greater deployment of cash machines across the board, potentially proposing ones that are more sustainable and that require less maintenance. But these efforts must also be part of a greater national effort, as is in the case of Ghana where, as part of its financial inclusionA process by which individuals and businesses can access appropriate, affordable, and timely financial products and services. These include banking, loan, equity, and insurance products. While it is recognised that not all individuals need or want financial services, the goal of financial inclusion is to remove all barriers, both supply side and demand side. Supply side barriers stem from financial institutions themselves. They often indicate poor financial infrastructure, and include lack of ne... More initiative, the government is planning on expanding its ATM base by 6% a year until 2020.