Parliament has passed a landmark amendment to Ghana’s deposit protection law that, for the first time, extends formal insurance coverage to funds held in mobile money wallets, giving the country’s 19 million active mobile money users a legal safety net they have never had before.
The Ghana Deposit Protection Amendment Bill, 2025, passed on Thursday, updates the existing Ghana Deposit Protection Act, 2016 (Act 931), and expands the mandate of the Ghana Deposit Protection Corporation (GDPC) to cover electronic money, meaning funds in mobile money wallets and other digital platforms are now eligible for protection if a licensed financial institution fails.
The extension of coverage to e-money will be implemented in a manner deemed operationally feasible by the Corporation, giving the GDPC flexibility in how and when the mobile money protection framework is rolled out. The bill also empowers the GDPC to access emergency funding and provides a formal financial backstop for the corporation — mechanisms it previously lacked.
Deputy Minister of Finance Thomas Nyarko Ampem told Parliament the amendment was designed to make Ghana’s deposit protection framework relevant to the financial system Ghanaians actually use today, not the one that existed in 2016. The legislation follows the financial sector clean-up of 2017 to 2020, during which the government spent over GH₵21 billion to compensate depositors after the collapse of multiple banks and other financial institutions, a crisis that exposed the limits of the existing protection framework and left thousands of savers waiting years for their money.
The timing and scope of the amendment carry direct practical significance. Mobile money transactions in Ghana reached GH₵3.6 trillion in the first ten months of 2025 alone, with over 74 million registered accounts and 19.3 million active monthly users. MTN’s MoMo platform holds GH₵38.4 billion in customer wallet balances, a 61 per cent increase over the previous year. Until today’s passage, all of that value sat outside the formal deposit insurance framework that protects funds in bank accounts.
The Finance Committee of Parliament, after extensive deliberations, endorsed the bill, stating that its passage would go a long way to improve Ghana’s financial stability, protect depositors, and support the development of a resilient financial sector, aligning the Ghana Deposit Protection Scheme with international best practices.
The amendment now awaits presidential assent before taking full legal effect.
Source: www.newsghana.com.gh
