How frictionless payments are helping Ghana’s SMEs grow

Ghana demonstrates one of Africa's most successful consumer payment stories, yet its business side remains less known. In June 2026, Ghanaians conducted 954 million mobile-money transactions worth GH¢492.9 billion, a 50% increase from the same month a year earlier. Despite this surge in mobile payments, only 37% of Ghana's 1.9 million businesses accept or utilize digital payments, according to a census by the Ghana Statistical Service, ISSER and ReFinD.

The existing payment infrastructure is in place, but the key issue is how businesses can leverage these systems. The distinction lies not only in adoption but also in the use of proper merchant accounts, which correlate with stronger revenue growth, increased employment, and greater formalization for businesses that employ digital payments.

While Ghana boasts 26 million active mobile-money accounts and 546,000 active agents, the challenge remains in closing the gap between consumer payment systems and merchant acceptance. To make digital payments more beneficial for Ghanaian SMEs, they must integrate seamlessly into the customer experience. This includes accepting payments through various channels like social media, digital orders, and mobile money, without requiring customers to switch platforms or go through additional steps.

The technology must cater to the unique operational methods of small businesses, including those that rely on mobile money, e-commerce, social commerce, and international customers. Addressing merchants' primary concerns—cost of acceptance and safety—remains crucial. Mastercard has partnered with DPO Group to enable Ghanaian businesses to accept multiple digital payment methods (mobile money and e-wallets) from both local and international customers through a unified platform, complete with fraud protection, chargeback support, and training on digital payment management.

This approach transforms payment acceptance into a foundational element of a business's operations, facilitating wider customer reach beyond the immediate physical location. Payment infrastructure that connects to other financial services creates pathways to working capital, insurance, and other resources that can bolster a business.

Mastercard's collaboration with Boost, extending to six African markets, exemplifies this by merging digital payment wallets with supply-chain finance for distributors, wholesalers, and retailers. This integration is vital because many SMEs view payment, financing, and business management as separate entities. Digital infrastructure can now streamline these interconnected functions.

Ghana's opportunity is not merely about digitizing payment systems but ensuring that digital payment infrastructure adds value to the businesses that rely on it. This entails supporting merchants who operate in both physical and digital spaces, accepting various payment methods, serving domestic and international customers. In 2025, Mastercard established its first office in Accra, focusing on enhancing both acceptance and trust in digital payments.

Collaborations with Kalabash, Boost, Smile ID, and Access Bank provide low-cost acceptance tools for Ghanaian businesses, while the Mastercard Fintech Forum and Fraud and Cyber Resilience Forum tackle security head-on. The goal is an ecosystem where digital payments serve as a catalyst for broader business growth, connecting businesses to customers, financial services, and opportunities for expansion.

For Ghana’s SMEs, the next phase of digitalization should concentrate on what payment systems enable, rather than merely whether businesses accept them. The most effective payment ecosystems will align with how businesses currently operate—whether selling from a physical storefront, through social media, online platforms, or exporting to international markets.

Equally important is connecting payment acceptance with essential tools for reconciling sales, managing cash flow, accessing finance, and building business resilience. The success of frictionless payments for Ghana’s SMEs hinges on turning payment adoption into a foundation for more robust, interconnected, and resilient businesses.