Placing Retailers as Agents of Change in the Transformation of Mobile Payment Transactions in Ghana

ABSTRACT The continuous rise in the number of mobile phone usage in Ghana has created the need for further study into the other uses of phones. Although some of the mobile money services are presently being used by some subscribers in Ghana, the market penetration has not been very encouraging especially among the rural and urban poor. This has precipitated further research in the area of mobile payment systems and financial services with emphasis on the role of the retailers as authorized agents for telecommunication operators in the business. Field survey was conducted in the urban and rural poor areas of Accra and Swedru respectively and it involved 350 retail agents in fourteen communities and towns. Semi-structured questionnaires served as the main instrument for collecting data from the field and the analysis were done using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the Task-Technology Fit and Mobile Money proposition for retailers. The results show that although majority of retailers had heard of mobile money services, very few of them had used the services. Their response however revealed the need for further education on the benefits of mobile money usage and the relevance of transacting business without holding cash