MoMo and GhIPSS Champion National Development by Digitising Informal Transport Payments
The Ride with MoMo campaign, an initiative to support national development by helping commercial drivers transition from cash-based transactions to safer, traceable and more formal digital payment practices, has been launched in Accra.
Under the initiative, passengers will pay by scanning a QR code, and drivers will receive the exact fare instantly, thereby reducing cash risks, removing the challenge of change and making daily transactions simpler for both drivers and passengers.
The campaign, launched by MobileMoney Fintech Ltd. (MMFL) in partnership with the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) through the GhQR platform, began in Accra and continued with a roadshow in Ho, the Volta Regional capital.
The event brought together ride-hailing drivers, transport unions, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority, Motor Traffic and Transport Department, National Communications Authority, financial institutions and other stakeholders to promote the MoMo Merchant Wallet and GhQR as practical tools for bringing transport payments into the formal digital economy.
Speaking at the launch, Mr Shaibu Haruna, Chief Executive Officer, MMFL, said the Ride with MoMo campaign formed part of MMFL’s broader contribution to national development by driving financial inclusion, supporting safer transport payments and helping commercial drivers move from informal cash-based transactions to more structured digital business practices.
Mr Haruna explained that the campaign was designed to solve real challenges drivers faced in handling cash, while helping them build more structured and better-documented businesses.
According to Mr Haruna, the campaign would bring ride-hailing, haulage and Pragya drivers into the MoMo Merchant network, giving them a formal business payment channel through which passengers could pay seamlessly by scanning a GhQR code using the MoMo App or any application that supported GhQR.
He noted that the Ride with MoMo campaign was more than convenience and that it was about helping drivers separate personal and business income, keep proper records and build a transaction history that could support future access to financial services.
In an address, Ms Akosua Blay, Chief Business Officer, GhIPSS, said the initiative reflected the value of collaboration in expanding Ghana’s shared digital payment infrastructure to everyday businesses.
Ms Blay said GhQR would give drivers one simple code through which they could receive payments from bank accounts, mobile money wallets and fintech wallets, making digital payments practical, inclusive and accessible for small businesses across the country.
She gave the assurance that the partnership with MMFL would help more informal businesses enter formal payment channels and support Ghana’s transition to a more inclusive digital economy.
A representative of ride-hailing drivers in Accra welcomed the initiative, noting that digital payments would make their work safer and more efficient, while in Ho, where the campaign is targeting Pragya riders and other commercial transport operators, a representative of the riders was optimistic that the initiative would help them serve customers who increasingly now preferred digital payments.
Source: G.D. Zaney, Esq.
