Charging customers for deposits is against the rules
In Ghana's rapidly expanding mobile money ecosystem, a quiet erosion of trust has been taking place at the transaction counter — agents charging customers fees for deposits they were never meant to pay. On May 1st, at the University of Ghana, the National Mobile Money Advocacy Group used its annual Day Out gathering not only to celebrate the human beings behind the financial network, but to draw a firm line: rules exist, consequences follow, and the integrity of the system depends on everyone playing their part honestly.
- Some mobile money agents across Ghana have been illegally charging customers fees simply to deposit funds — a violation hiding in plain sight within a system millions depend on daily.
- MoMAG President Edward Ofori Agyemang issued a direct warning at the annual Day Out event: agents caught imposing these unauthorized charges will face sanctions, with no room for ambiguity.
- Beyond enforcement, the group turned its attention to customers themselves, urging them to always carry their phones during transactions — because a customer who cannot see the screen cannot protect themselves.
- The annual MoMAG Day Out, now in its third year, has evolved from a simple rest day for overworked agents into a live forum where grievances surface and industry stakeholders are held to account.
- The underlying message threading through the event was one of mutual accountability — fraud does not flourish only through bad actors, but through the gaps that open when any party to a transaction stops paying attention.
On the morning of May 1st, Edward Ofori Agyemang stood before a crowd of mobile money agents at the University of Ghana and addressed a problem that had been quietly spreading through the sector: agents charging customers fees to deposit money — a practice that violated every regulation governing the industry.
Ofori Agyemang leads the National Mobile Money Advocacy Group Ghana, an organization now approaching its ninth year. Three years ago, MoMAG created the annual Day Out event for a reason that cut against the grain of the industry itself: to give agents permission to stop working. Mobile money vendors rarely closed. They did not take weekends or step away for family. The Day Out was designed to carve out space for rest, conversation, and the simple reminder that agents were people before they were nodes in a financial network.
Over time, the event became something more — a forum where agents could name their problems directly to the institutions that employed or regulated them. This year, Ofori Agyemang used that platform to address the illegal deposit fees head-on. The rule was clear, he said. Agents who violated it would face sanctions. No ambiguity, no second chances.
But he did not stop at agents. He also spoke to customers, offering advice that was as much protection as instruction: always bring your phone to a mobile money transaction. Without a phone, a customer cannot verify what is happening in real time — and it is precisely in that blind spot where irregular practices take hold. Agents were instructed not to process transactions for customers who arrived without their devices.
The message delivered at an event built around celebration and rest was, at its core, about trust — and the shared responsibility required to maintain it. Agents, customers, and institutions all have a role to play. When any one of them steps back from that role, the entire ecosystem becomes a little more fragile.
Edward Ofori Agyemang stood before a gathering of mobile money agents at the University of Ghana on Friday, May 1st, and spoke plainly about a problem that had been festering in the sector: agents were charging customers money to deposit funds—a practice that violated every rule on the books.
Ofori Agyemang, who leads the National Mobile Money Advocacy Group Ghana, had come to the annual MoMAG Day Out event to deliver a message that was part warning, part plea. The group, now approaching its ninth year, had created this annual gathering three years ago for a reason that seemed almost quaint in an industry built on constant transaction: to give agents permission to stop working. Mobile money vendors rarely closed their shops. They did not take weekends. They did not step away to be with their families. The Day Out was meant to change that calculus, to carve out space where agents could rest, talk to one another, and remember that they were human beings before they were nodes in a financial network.
But the event had become something more than a day off. It had become a forum. Agents brought their grievances directly to the institutions that employed them or regulated them. They named the problems they faced. They asked for solutions. The industry listened—or at least, it was supposed to. This year, Ofori Agyemang used that platform to address something that threatened the integrity of the entire system: the illegal charging of deposit fees.
The rule was clear. Agents could not charge customers for deposits. Yet some were doing it anyway. Ofori Agyemang made the consequence equally clear: agents caught engaging in this practice would face sanctions. There would be no ambiguity, no second chances. The group had drawn a line.
But the responsibility did not rest with agents alone. Ofori Agyemang also turned his attention to customers, offering them a simple piece of advice that doubled as a safeguard: bring your phone when you visit a mobile money vendor. If a customer arrived without a phone, agents were instructed not to process the transaction. The logic was straightforward. A customer without a phone could not verify the transaction themselves. They could not see what was happening. They could not protect themselves. And in that gap between what they could see and what they could not, irregular practices took root.
The advice was not punitive. It was protective. It acknowledged that transparency required participation from both sides—that the customer had to be present, literally and digitally, for the system to work as intended. When a customer left their phone at home, they were not just inconveniencing themselves. They were creating the conditions under which fraud could flourish. They were making themselves vulnerable. And they were, perhaps without realizing it, making it easier for agents to justify cutting corners.
Ofori Agyemang's message, delivered at an event designed to celebrate and support the people who kept mobile money moving in Ghana, was ultimately about trust. Trust required rules. Trust required consequences. Trust required that everyone—agents, customers, institutions—show up fully and honestly to the transaction. Without that, the entire ecosystem was at risk.
Citas Notables
Mobile money agents hardly close their shops to rest or spend time with their families. So we introduced MoMAG Day Out to allow them to have fun, interact with stakeholders, and improve their well-being.— Edward Ofori Agyemang, MoMAG President
Charging customers for deposits is against the rules. Any agent found doing that will face sanctions. We have made it clear that such practices will not be tolerated.— Edward Ofori Agyemang, MoMAG President
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does an advocacy group need to warn its own members against breaking the rules? Shouldn't the operators and regulators be doing that?
They are, probably. But MoMAG is closer to the agents. They hear the pressures firsthand—the margins are thin, the work is relentless. When the advocacy group says it, it carries a different weight. It's not a fine from above. It's a peer saying: don't do this, we won't protect you if you do.
The advice about customers bringing their phones seems almost obvious. Why does it need to be stated?
Because it's not obvious to everyone. Some customers think the agent can just handle it, that they don't need to be involved. And some agents exploit that assumption. The statement makes it official: if you don't have your phone, the transaction doesn't happen. It removes the gray area.
Is this a sign the system is breaking down, or just normal friction?
Both, maybe. Mobile money in Ghana is mature enough that it's not collapsing. But it's also mature enough that people are testing its boundaries, looking for ways to extract a little extra. The warning suggests they're catching it early, before it becomes systemic.
What does agent welfare have to do with fraud prevention?
Everything. Exhausted people cut corners. People who feel unsupported rationalize rule-breaking. The Day Out isn't just kindness—it's also a signal that the group sees agents as people with limits, not just transaction machines. That matters when you're asking them to follow rules under pressure.