Mobile Money Is Not Enough: Why you Need a Bank Account
The Mobile Money service is one that has come to stay especially amongst the Ghanaian citizenry.
For the past eleven years, the mobile money industry has dominated the Ghanaian payment ecosystem with over 20 million people currently using the service in the country.
In spite of the numerous advantages of the mobile money platform which includes payment of bills, instant money transfer, quick payments and purchase of airtime and data bundles, the Mobile Money service is not entirely a replacement for the traditional banking system.
In this article, I shall give you reasons why you still need to have a bank account even if you have all the various mobile money platforms available in Ghana.
The Banking system in itself is a major part of the global financial system and it has been for the past so many years.
The introduction of the mobile money service was only to make banking easier and faster. Therefore, there are still instances where one needs to have an actual bank account to do some things.
Transferring Huge Amounts Of Money
Except you are a Mobile Money agent which also comes with its limitations, you can only send up to 5,000 cedis within every 24 hours on your mobile money account.
This means if you wish to send money beyond this amount, maybe from 10,000 Cedis and above, the Mobile Money platform may not be a perfect option for you especially if you are not a registered merchant or agent.
For this reason, you may have to fall back on the traditional banking system where you can send as much money as possible by depositing directly into the account of the recipient.
This is one of the major reasons why you may not be able to use your mobile money entirely without periodically returning to the bricks and mortar banking halls once upon a long while.
Seeking Huge Loans For Business Or Personal Needs
The Mobile money system is a near-perfect replacement for the traditional banking system however, an oldie is always an oldie.
With your Mobile Money, especially the MTN Mobile Money, users can borrow money from their wallets based on their transactions and how long they’ve been using their mobile money wallets.
While this is true, an individual can only take up to 1,000 cedis per mobile money account at a time. This makes mobile money loans a short term loan for settling urgent issues.
However, for those seeking to raise good capital for their businesses and some other personal needs, the need for the banking system is not even up for debate.
They need to run back to their various banks for support in such situations since banks are able to give out loans to the tune of millions of cedis.
Limits On Mobile Money Wallets
Depending on the type of Mobile Money account you have, there are limits on the volume of money you can have in your wallet at any given time.
For most people, the limit is pegged at 10,000 cedis while others have their limits pegged at 20,000 cedis and 50,000 cedis respectively.
This means that if you intend saving money in your mobile money wallet, after some time, when your balance exceeds the limit, you would have to go back to your bank.
So, Mobile Money is in essence, a temporary way of saving money for long-term goals.
International Money Transfers
While there are third party software and websites which enable people to send and receive money internationally using their mobile money wallets, it is largely impossible to do that directly from your mobile money wallet.
For the sake of trust and security, using such third party applications for such money transfers may not always work especially when there are huge amounts of money involved.
So, in such situations, the safest and most convenient solution is the bank for which you need to have a bank account.
Conclusion
In spite of all the good things that the mobile money service has brought to the Ghanaian population especially in terms of payments and money transfers, the Mobile Money platform is not a complete replacement for the old banking system.
There are still reasons why you need to have bank accounts to supplement your mobile money wallets.
I hope this article was helpful in opening your eyes to some of these reasons.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions regarding the content of this article, kindly let us know in the comment box below or contact us.
Kindly do well to share this article with friends and family.
