Dr Bawumia proposes Mobile Money Interoperability for seamless Africa trade

The Vice President of Ghana and the New Patriotic Party presidential candidate for the December 2024 polls, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia Proposes Mobile Money Interoperability for adoption by the African continent for seamless trade among countries.

Many things have long hampered trading activities among African countries. Among them is a lack of a common platform for payment, leading to low exports among countries on the continent.

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia believes that adopting mobile money interoperability across Africa can go a long way to eliminate these barriers and ensure seamless trade among African countries.

Dr Bawumia’s views about the adoption of mobile money interoperability for Africa were contained in his address to participants at an Interoperability Symposium in Accra on Friday, June 5, 2024, which was organized by Africa Prosperity Network (APN).

“Trade payments and relationships are currently hampered by inadequate settlement systems, which result in high costs, limited access, slow processing speeds, and a lack of transparency,” Dr Bawumia said, adding that “Making mobile money interoperable across borders (Africa) would allow our citizens to trade seamlessly.”

With diverse political leanings across the African continent, anything of this sort as proposed by Dr Bawumia may experience some hindrance; this, the Vice President of Ghana acknowledges, saying that a political will is required if the move for the adoption of the mobile money interoperability across the African continent would be achieved.

“Without political will, it is not likely to be achieved. It takes a lot of effort to bring stakeholders together on a common platform,” Dr Bawumia said.
Further enlightening his views on the matter, Dr Bawumia said on his Facebook page after the event that the successful implementation of mobile money interoperability in Ghana is something the rest of the African continent can draw inspiration from.

“Ghana’s successful implementation of a comprehensive mobile money interoperability, which is unique on the continent, will become handy as the rest of Africa strives to pursue a similar course,” Dr Bawumia wrote on his Facebook page.

There have been discussions about the West African sub-region implementing a common currency known as the ECO, which is in an advanced stage of implementation.

The move is aimed at boosting trading activities across the region, but Dr Bawumia believes that the adoption of continental mobile money interoperability can help achieve that goal without necessarily having a common currency.

“For me, having continental mobile money interoperability will ultimately achieve, to a greater extent, the objectives of a common currency without necessarily having a common currency in Africa,” he said.

Difficulty in financial transactions among African countries remains one of the major trade barriers the continent faces. Adopting mobile money interoperability will make payments easy, leading to increased trading activities among African countries.