The Advent of Mobile Money and Its Effect on Branch-Based Banking in Ghana: A Case of the National Investment Bank (NIB)

Abstract

Mobile money services have come to stay. In developing countries like Ghana, where the service has been extensively embraced and acknowledged as a tool to addressing financial inclusion, there is the need to find out how the banking sector, the main financial driver of the economy, is reacting to this development. This study seeks to find out how the advent of mobile money is affecting branch-based banking in Ghana using the National Investment Bank as a case. The study utilised a qualitative approach and gathered data through interviews with selected personnel at the National Investment Bank’s Head Office in the Greater Accra Region. The study found that Mobile Money services are not a threat to the banking sector and hence have positive effects on branch-based banking in Ghana. The study also recommended that given the widespread use of Mobile money services, it is imperative that the Bank of Ghana and other regulatory bodies regulate the operations of the service by the “Telcos” in order to mitigate against the imminent risks as a result of the extensive use of the service.