The Bank of Ghana has a simple idea: your MoMo transaction history should be proof that you can borrow money and buy insurance.
If you’ve ever tried to get a loan as a trader, taxi driver, or freelancer in Ghana, you know the problem. Banks want a payslip or property deed. Most informal workers don’t have either. So they stay locked out of credit.
But you probably have something banks ignore: years of MoMo transaction records. Every time you send money to suppliers, customers send you money back, you pay for goods or services — it’s all there in your mobile money history. That record tells a real story about your money flows and reliability.
What the BoG fintech head is proposing
Ghana’s central bank wants lenders and insurance companies to use your MoMo history as a credit and insurance passport. Instead of asking for a bank statement you don’t have, they’d look at your mobile money data to decide if you’re trustworthy to lend to or insure.
This isn’t just talk. Mobile money operators already hold transaction data. The missing piece is making it work with banks and insurers — and that’s where regulation and Bank of Ghana approval come in.
Why this matters for you
If this works, it opens three doors:
- Loans become possible. A seamstress who moves money through MoMo regularly could use that as proof of income. Banks could use transaction patterns to offer emergency loans or working capital.
- Insurance gets cheaper. Insurers could offer health or business insurance premiums based on your actual transaction patterns, not guesses.
- No more gate-keeping. You don’t need a fancy job title or formal employment letter. Your behaviour is your credential.
Ghana’s informal sector is huge — traders, drivers, artisans, online sellers, delivery agents. Most of them are already using MoMo. For them, this is a way to finally participate in the formal financial system without proving they belong to it first.
The catch
Privacy matters. Banks and insurers will need access to your mobile money data — but you should control how much they see and for how long. How privacy protections will work remains to be seen, but Ghanaians should watch whether any eventual rules actually protect users.
There’s also the question of accuracy. Transaction patterns don’t always tell the full story — money sent regularly could be income, family support, or something else entirely. Any system built on this data will need to be smart enough to account for these nuances.
What happens next
The BoG’s fintech head has made the case for using mobile money histories to unlock credit and insurance for informal workers. Implementation details — including which institutions will participate and what standards will govern data sharing — are still unclear.
What you should do: If you’re an informal worker or gig economy user, keep your MoMo transactions clean and documented. Screenshot your balance history or transaction summaries regularly — they might become your financial passport. Watch for updates from the Bank of Ghana and your mobile money operator about data-sharing agreements.
What to watch: Look for announcements from BoG about formal guidelines for using mobile money data for credit and insurance. If your bank or insurer starts asking for MoMo access, ask them exactly what data they need and how long they’ll keep it.
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