Abstract:
The rise of mobile money in Ghana has opened up diverse opportunities in the financial sector, and has become the catalyst to bridging the gap between the banked and unbanked population. It has increased awareness of the need to develop the technological base of every sector for national development. This study assessed mobile money service adoption in Ghana using GCB Ghana Bank and Fidelity Bank Ghana Ltd as case studies, with a view of recommending solutions to fine-tune the banks’ services portfolio. A conceptual model was developed based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). The study adopted the survey methodology and was placed within the scientific epistemology of realism. The study setting were GCB Limited and Fidelity Bank in the Greater Accra Region. The study population were the bank customers, a sample of 188 of which were used for the study. Convenience sampling was adopted for the study. Questionnaire was the main instrument for data collection and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 2.0 was used for the analysis of the data. The findings revealed that, customer needs for mobile money services differed between the banked and the unbanked population. The respondents informed that, the main reasons mobile money adoption in the banks are checking of accounts, paying bills, withdrawals among others. But, for the unbanked customers adoption is mainly driven by sending and receiving cash. It also noted that, adoption of mobile money service in Ghana is affected by perceived usefulness, perceived trust, social influence and competitive intensity. The study recommended among others that, stakeholders in mobile money in Ghana and the mobile money providers recognize these factors that affect customers ‘intention to use mobile money as well as the challenges associated. This is necessary so as to increase its use and encourage its general acceptance within the banking sector. Furthermore, the study provided guidance to mobile financial institutions to ensure ease and usefulness of mobile money services to increase growth and adoption. Further research on the assessment of mobile money services in the banks could help to determine the impact of these services on revenue and liquidity of the banks
