How do people in Ghana pay online?
Mobile money is the default. Bank of Ghana data shows 85.8 million registered mobile money accounts in August 2026, of which 26.4 million were active, meaning they had transacted at least once in the previous 90 days. That month they carried 1,046 million transactions worth GHS 518.8 billion. For most Ghanaian shoppers, paying online means entering a phone number at checkout and approving the payment on their phone.
MTN Mobile Money is the largest service. MTN Ghana reported 19.3 million active MoMo users at the end of 2025, up 12.3% in a year. Telecel Cash and AT mobile money are the other telco wallets. GhanaPay, a mobile money wallet run by the banks with GhIPSS, launched on 15 June 2022 and passed one million subscribers by its third anniversary.
The wallets are connected. GhIPSS, the interbank payments company set up under the Bank of Ghana, launched mobile money interoperability in May 2018, linking wallets across networks and bank accounts. In August 2026 interoperable transfers reached 35.7 million transactions worth GHS 6.5 billion. Bank-to-bank transfers run on GhIPSS Instant Pay, which processed about GHS 95.1 billion in the same month.
Cards are a smaller channel. Banks had about 6.0 million debit cards and 81,000 credit cards in issue in August 2026, against 26.4 million active wallets. A card form is the second option for most shoppers.
What rules shape online payments in Ghana?
VAT changed on 1 January 2026. The Value Added Tax Act, 2025 (Act 1151) replaced the 2013 VAT Act, set a single VAT rate of 15% on all taxable supplies, kept the NHIL and GETFund levies at 2.5% each and abolished the COVID-19 levy, for a combined 20%. Under section 15, a non-resident that supplies telecommunications or electronic commerce services to Ghana must register for VAT unless it sells through a tax registered agent. Service providers have no registration threshold, and failing to register carries a minimum penalty of three times the tax payable.
Online shoppers can change their mind. The Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 (Act 772) lets a consumer cancel an online purchase of goods within 14 days of receiving them, or of services within 7 days of the agreement, without giving a reason or paying a penalty. The only charge allowed is the direct cost of returning the goods. Exclusions include custom-made or perishable goods, unsealed audio, video or software, and financial services. When an ordered item is unavailable, the supplier must tell the customer at once and refund any payment within 7 days of that notice.
Transfer taxes are gone. The Electronic Transfer Levy took effect on 1 May 2022 at 1.5% on electronic transfers, including mobile money, above a daily threshold of GHS 100. The rate fell to 1% in January 2023, and the levy was repealed by Act 1128 with effect from 2 April 2025.
Customer data needs a registration. Under the Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843), a data controller must register with the Data Protection Commission before processing personal data, a controller not incorporated in Ghana registers as an external company, and registration is renewed every two years.
How would Omno route payments in Ghana?
Omno is built for markets like this: a merchant connects once and sets routing rules per method, currency and customer group. In Ghana the setup would centre on mobile money.
- MTN MoMo pay-ins would be routed to a provider that holds an MTN MoMo connection, with the request to pay kept in a pending state until the customer approves it with their PIN.
- Other wallets, such as Telecel Cash, AT mobile money and GhanaPay, can be offered in the hosted checkout next to MoMo for customers on other networks.
- Card pay-ins can be routed by BIN, with cascading to the next provider in the rule if one is unavailable or rejects the request.
- Pay-outs can follow PSP eligibility rules, so money only goes through providers that support GHS transfers to the customer’s own wallet or the seller’s account.
Webhooks would carry the final status of each payment, which is the record a back office should use before shipping an order. Customer groups and customer verification levels can keep new customers on conservative routes until their verification is complete.
What should merchants plan for?
Plan for mobile money first. A checkout without MTN MoMo misses the main way Ghanaians pay.
Plan for approvals on the phone. A mobile money payment waits for the customer to approve it, so orders need a pending state, clear instructions on screen and a status check when no notification arrives.
Plan for VAT and returns. A foreign seller of digital services needs a Ghana VAT registration under Act 1151, and a store selling goods needs a returns flow that can refund within the Act 772 time limits.
Plan for reconciliation in GHS. Settlement timing and fees differ between wallet providers and card acquirers, and the routing-decision log in Omno shows which provider handled each payment so finance teams can reconcile by route.