The Mobile Money Agents Association has called on government to address the security of its members and the fraud associated with their operations.

The agents with a population of over 300,000 also want representation on government boards whose policies directly or indirectly affect their businesses.

The Association made this call during a visit to the jubilee house on Tuesday to formally inform the President about their challenges and contribution to revenue generation since the introduction of the E-levy.

President of the Association, Evans Otumfuo, who spoke on behalf of the Association, outlined some challenges currently facing the Association.

“We have many challenges, Your Excellency. One is the financial loss that we have been experiencing through fraud, armed robbery, high cost of operations and difficulty in assessing funds. So these are some major challenges as we speak,” he noted.

Mobile money transactions hit almost ¢1 trillion at the end of 2021. Government strategy to widen the tax net saw the approval by parliament of the controversial Electronic Transaction levy (E-levy), which came into operation at the start of this month.

Government expects to generate over ¢4 billion at the end of the year. Communication Minister Ursula Owusu Ekuful said there are ongoing steps to address challenges identified with the service providers.

“I am looking forward to greater engagement with them. As I indicated to them when I met them, my doors are always open, and so instead of waiting for it to become an issue, let’s have regular interaction and discuss the matters of mutual concern to both the government and the Association and work out measures which would endure to the benefits of the society as a whole,” she said.

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, on his part, noted, “we [Finance Ministry] look forward to working with them to deepen relations. 300,000 is a good number of jobs, and I feel we can look to support that and increase that.”

President Akufo-Addo also indicated the willingness of his government to study and work with the proposals put forth by the mobile money agents association.

“The document you have brought, I have a copy of it. I have seen it in my office. The issue as to your representation, well, we will be looking at it, but I will be surprised because the governmental agencies that are working are regulatory agencies, and it’s a general rule…will see whatever is possible to make that bridge between government and the private sector for me I think it’s worthwhile developing the possibilities of the bridge and bringing people together,” the President said.