The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications and Digital Chamber of Ghana, Sylvia Owusu-Ankomah, has called for a transformation in the role of mobile money agents as Ghana advances its digital financial ecosystem.

Speaking at the MOMAG Agent Conference 2026 in Accra on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, under the theme “Amplifying the Impact,” Owusu-Ankomah said mobile money agents must move beyond traditional cash-in and cash-out services and become trusted community financial-service hubs.

According to her, agents are at the heart of Ghana's digital-finance ecosystem because they serve as the bridge between technology and ordinary Ghanaians, particularly those accessing formal financial services for the first time.

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“At the heart of Ghana’s digital-finance story is not an application or apps as we have on our phones today; it’s not a wallet or a technology platform. It is trust,” she said.

Owusu-Ankomah further noted that the expansion of the agents' responsibilities must be accompanied by stronger support, including continuous professional training, business-management skills, reliable liquidity, fair commissions, affordable access to capital, insurance and improved physical security.

She said agents should eventually be equipped to facilitate services such as merchant payments, insurance, pensions, remittances, savings products and government payments.

The Chamber CEO also raised concerns about the increasing threat of fraud, citing the Bank of Ghana's 2025 Fraud Report, which recorded 24,124 fraud cases within the payment-service-provider sector, up from 15,673 in 2024.

She said the value at risk also increased from approximately GH¢19 million to GH¢37 million over the period.

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Owusu-Ankomah called for a system-wide fraud-prevention framework involving banks, electronic money issuers, fintechs, telecommunications companies, the National Identification Authority, Cyber Security Authority, Ghana Police Service, GhIPSS and the Bank of Ghana.

She said such a framework should facilitate secure sharing of risk signals, real-time fraud detection, rapid freezing of suspicious transactions and coordinated investigations and recovery.

Concluding her address, Owusu-Ankomah urged mobile money agents to embrace professionalism, regulatory compliance, customer protection and continuous learning.

“Every agent must see himself or herself not simply as a transaction processor, but as a custodian of trust and a gateway to economic opportunity.”

She also urged regulators and industry players to engage mobile money agents more closely and involve them early in decisions affecting their businesses.

JHM/AM