Category: FinTech

5 Ways To Protect Your Bank Account And Bank App From Thieves

I remember last year on a certain day around 1:00 AM a best friend of mine called me and in that middle of the night I could hear her crying, I asked her why she is crying and all she could say was that she saw a message from her bank saying she has withdrawn a certain amount of money.

And the truth is she hasn’t made any transaction, I was speechless at that time and didn’t know what to say next to console her, even though I was able to console her to try and get some sleep so that we see what we can do the next day.

The next day we visited the bank and run through some check-ups only to find out someone got access to her account through phishing. It was a big blow to her and it was one of the heartbreaking stories I have ever witnessed in my entire life.

Technology is moving forward, now we can easily do things thanks to technology, now you don’t always have to visit the bank to make the transaction as you can do it on your phone and its called mobile banking.

Due to this, hackers too are learning new ways to steal money from people who don’t always secure themselves (like my best friend). so the question is, how do you secure yourself?

Well, in this article, I am going to take you through Ways to protect your Bank Account and Bank App from thieves, so let’s get started.

Have you checked out any of the aspiration online bank reviews yet?

5 Ways to protect your Bank Account and Bank App from thieves

Use your Bank’s ATM

So you might travel and on the new place you find yourself, you might need cash, and will be searching for ATM to withdraw some money, one thing I will advise you to do is to look for your bank’s ATM and even if you can’t find your bank’s ATM make sure the ATM you are going to use is not a stand-alone ATM that is located In a weird or unusual location.

Most banks and ATMs can be found on the roadsides, others too can be found at a mostly busy place, if you get to find an ATM that is located at a place that is hard to find, you better not put in your card.

Some hackers can install these types of ATMs and then when you make a transaction, they get all your card details.

Don’t Access Your Account Anywhere

This is one of the easiest ways hackers use in stealing people’s accounts, some people are fond of connecting to any free Wi-Fi’s they come across – be it a park, restaurants or any place they will find themselves, and as soon as they get connected, they decide to make transactions, like paying for the food they ordered.

Using that free Wi-Fi from these hackers, they can get access to your bank details.

Use Strong Passwords

I know I am not the first person to tell you this, this is what you have to know, as every day you are going outside to work, there is someone who is always inside learning new ways to crack people’s passwords and steal from them.

This is your bank account and it contains all your life savings, so setting weak passwords like “123456789” is like telling someone to come and take your hard-earned money because you don’t know what to use it for.

Always use strong passwords for your bank accounts, the ones that are hard to guess and involves characters, numbers and letters. (if possible make some of the characters capital eg: !!@MfiLie?2020^%).

Never Disclose Your Pin To Anyone

Hackers also try to call you and act like they are calling from the bank, they can bring up a story like your account has been compromised or something and it needs your attention, after getting your attention they will continue by saying provide your pic for them to resolve the issue and if you give it to them, that is going to be the end of your sweet loving life.

Always Check Your Bank Accounts Regularly

We often never bother to check our bank accounts when we are not doing any transactions, this is wrong, there might be something going on that you might not know, when a hacker gets access to your bank account, the first thing he does is to deactivate email and SMS notifications, in that way you will not be notified in anything that he will do.

Conclusion

Hackers have been wild these days and one of the painful things to ever experience is to find out your life savings has been withdrawn from your bank by a hacker, this is why you need to protect yourself s that you might not be a victim, in this article, we went through 5 Ways to protect your Bank Account and Bank App from thieves.

June 25, 2020
How to get Free Prepaid Card for Your Online Transactions
Being an internet entrepreneur means you’re going to carry on a lot of activities during the course of running your online business. You’ll process transactions either through PayPal, Mobile Money, or Credit card.

With Ghana being blacklisted from using PayPal, a lot of internet entrepreneurs/businesses and individuals have to depend on prepaid card whenever they want to purchase an item online.

If you are a business owner, individual or organization, looking to acquire a prepaid card for your online transaction, then this article is here to teach you how to get a free prepaid card that can be used to link to PayPal account, shop items online, accept payments then withdraw funds from the card through mobile money.

To tell you so, This is a free virtual prepaid card offered by third-party app owners.

This means, in other to get the Prepaid card, you must install the app on your smartphone then signup for an account. These we are going to see all the processes in this article.

How to Download the App

The name of the app is PalmPay. A free download application from the google playstore and Appstore.

To download the Palmpay app, all you need to do is to open your AppStore or Playstore then search for Palmpay from the search bar.

Now you’ll be displayed with the app, tap on it to installed.

Once the app is successfully installed on your smartphone, you’ll see the open button located at the right or below the app. Tap on it to open. You can also open the app by going to the app menus, locate PalmPay and then tap on it to open.

Now, once the app is opened, you’ll see two buttons: Signup and Login. Since you’re a first time user of the app, you have to signup. Tap on the signup button to continue.

Here you’ll be asked to enter the required details make sure to enter your correct information and when you get to the referral section you can put in this code 9GH6TW, as your referral so that you can get an instant 600 points. These points will help speed your transactions and also get you some cashback when topping up the Airtime.

Please use this code 9GH6TW, as your referral code so that you can get an instant 600 points.

After successful registration on the app, you’ll be taken to the app interface. From here you can continue with card request.

What can you use the PalmPay App for?
- Transfer money to other PalmPay wallets and mobile money/bank accounts.
- Pay for airtime and bills.
- Earn rewards for every transaction in the form of PalmPoints.
- Earn PalmPoints for inviting your friends.
- Spend your PalmPoints towards your payments just like cash.
- Request for Virtual Prepaid Card for online transactions.
How to Request for the Virtual Preapid card.

After successful registration of the app, you first have to verify your account by conducting the first transaction and also uploading your identity cards and details. This is to help the card issuers be fully aware of the person they are issuing their card to.

To verify your account, you have to use the app and top up at least GHS 2 Airtime so that your account will have a transaction history.

From my experience with the app, an account with no transaction history finds difficulty in verifying. So to help in the fast verification of the account, you must use it to purchase Airtime first before you can proceed to request the virtual prepaid card.

Once you carry out your first transaction using the palmpay app, the next thing is to come back to the app interface, and then you’ll be displayed with your current point.

Once you’re on the point interface, flip the page to right and you’ll ee the Virtual prepaid card section.

There, you’ll see the Apply button on the card. Tap on the Apply and then you’ll once again be required to upgrade the account.

By upgrading your account, you will be asked to verify your identity using any of your government-issued cards.

Fill in the necessary fields and when you reach the identity card type, you can choose Voter ID/others then enter your voter id number to continue.

You’ll also be required to take a picture of the card, take a selfie of yourself, and then upload the two. Do that and make sure your card and selfie are clearly taken. This will help them to easily verify your account.

Once everything goes on well, you should receive a successful card request SMS.

This will tell you that, you card request has been granted and from here you’ll see the card details(Card Number, Expiry Date, and CVV) display on the card.

Make sure to keep these details out of sight by your friends. you can put a pin on the card so that no one gets to see those details most especially the CVV.

From here, you can load the card using the load button located below the card details.

Once you tap on that button, you’ll have the option to load the card from your Mobile money account.

Also when you received some cash into the card, you can withdraw the money from the card to your mobile money account using the Withdraw button found on the card page.

Card activities can also be accessed right from the app and this a good thing because when linking the card to the PayPal account, you’ll need card details since PayPal will send you a code that can only be accessed from the card details.

That’s all friends.

Now you can go ahead and get the card, then use it to verify your PayPal account, Buy your item from any online shop and use the card to also accept payment on your store or from your online business.

Make sure to use the Code 9GH6TW for the instant 600points.
June 13, 2020
How To Send Mobile Money From the USA To Ghana using SendWave
There are many Ghanaians living in the Diaspora especially in the United States Of America.

For most of these people, they have family and friends down in Ghana whom they often have to send money to overtime.

The most successful money transfer channel within Ghana is the Mobile Money system.

Therefore, the question of how to send money from the USA to Ghana through Mobile Money has been asked severally.

If you have relatives living in the US or you work for people there, then you have had to ask yourself this question at some point.

Well, in this article, we shall answer your question to the latter.

Using Sendwave To Send Money From the USA To Ghana

With Sendwave, you can send money from the US, Canada, France, UK, France, Italy, Spain and Ireland to Mobile Wallets in Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Uganda and Senegal.

Follow the steps below to use Sendwave in sending money to any of the African countries listed above.

Signup For An Account
1. Download the Sendwave App from the Apple app store or Google Playstore.
2. Sign up for an account by providing your name, your email address, your phone number, your password and your debit card details as linked with your debit account.
How to Send Money from the USA to Ghana via SendWave

After signing up for an account, you need to start sending money to your Ghanaian relative. Follow the steps below to start sending cash.
1. Login to your account.
2. Select ‘Send Money’
3. Select ‘Ghana’ from the list of destination countries
4. Select your means of transfer ‘MTN Mobile Money or AirtelTigo Cash’
5. Enter the mobile number of the recipient
6. Enter the amount you want to send in Dollars.
7. The amount would be converted into cedis for you.
8. Confirm the transaction by checking the recipient’s number and name.
9. The transaction takes less than a minute to reflect in the recipient’s wallet in Ghana.
10. They can withdraw from any mobile money agent.
Sendwave Fees

In terms of fees, Sendwave does not charge direct fees on their transfers. Which means if you are sending 50 Dollars to Ghana, the recipient will receive 50 dollars equivalent exactly.

However, they make their money from tweaking the exchange rate. If the mid-market rate of USD to GHC is 5.50, Wave may actually use a rate of 5.70 or 5.80.

Sending Limits And How To Remove Them

For security reasons and policy reasons as is the case with many banking and finance companies and applications, Sendwave has limitations on initial transfers.

So for new users, they can send up to 999$ or 999 Euros per day and 2999$ per month.

However, you can extend your limits to 2500$ per day and 12,000$ per month.

To achieve this though, you have to follow the following steps:
1. Go to Settings on your app.
2. Select ‘Raise Limits’.
3. Upload your official government Identity card (eg. Passport, ID Card, Drivers’ License)
4. If your card is approved, your limits would be extended automatically.
Conclusion

Sending and receiving money from and to the US and other foreign countries has been a problem over the years.

However, the gradual introduction of newer payment methods has made it possible for anyone anywhere in the world to send and receive money without so much stress and hustle.

With Sendwave especially, receiving money from North America and some parts of Europe in Africa has become very easy and exciting.

You should this application on your next transaction. If you have any other alternatives or questions regarding this post, kindly indicate them in the comment box below.
June 2, 2020
Cryptocurrencies That Are Likely To End The Year On a Good Note

Thanks to an excruciating pain caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic, many financial instruments and economies are seeing a down-trend in their growth this year.

With many businesses expected to shut down completely after the end of this unexpected global health problem, financial and economic instruments have become signs of doom and monetary destruction.

Fortunately, the cryptocurrency market seems to be one of the least affected financial markets in these days of Coronavirus.

Despite the fact that the market took a strong hit in the early days of the virus with the lead coin, bitcoin hitting a long-time low of around 4,000 USD, the story is different today.

The current trends on the cryptocurrency market present a strong statement for everyone who believes in bitcoin and other alternative cryptocurrencies, especially in these disturbing moments.

In this article, we shall look at some cryptocurrencies that are likely to complete the year on a good note, based on their performance this year and what they’ve been able to achieve in the preceding years.

Bitcoin

The mother of all cryptocurrencies is definitely set to break boundaries this year and make waves as it did in 2017.

With demands for bitcoin getting higher and higher by the day and the need to reduce physical contacts with people all over the world reaching an all-time peak, bitcoin is set for a major rise.

Since 2017, it has been observed that after the first half of the year and towards the end of the last quarter, demand for bitcoin becomes very high and just a few weeks into the Christmas festivities, the crypto asset sails to a year-to-date high.

Coupling these two situations and the current price of bitcoin, we are sure to expect that bitcoin gets to an all-time high towards the end of this year.

Forbes predicted earlier that bitcoin could end the year around 50,000 USD which currently looks more like a dream than a reality.

We, on the other hand, thinks 20,000 USD as a new all-time high is a good bargain for the world’s most expensive and first cryptocurrency.

Ripples (XRP)

If you have any amount of money you do not intend to spend before the end of this year, the right place to invest that money is in Ripples.

Ripples have a payment background which makes it more suitable for the situation in which the world finds itself.

More interesting is the fact that Ripples has partnered with Moneygram to make sending and receiving funds very easy and affordable.

Currently, Ripples is trading at around 0.20 USD. Now, anytime ripples drop this low to 0.20 USD and are able to beat the resistance above 0.25 USD, it goes for a major spike.

Expectations are that as the demand for ripples grows towards the end of the year and it beats the resistance, steady growth in bitcoin price is likely to grow Ripples to 2 USD by the end of the year.

So to anyone who may invest in Ripples at this point, they may be looking at a profit of 1.80 USD per coin. Which translates to 900% profit by the end of the year.

So all things being equal and with this prediction coming to pass, anyone who invests 200 USD in Ripples at this point would be word 1,800 USD by the end of the year.

Zcash

This may not be a regular name to newbies in the cryptocurrency industry.

Gurus in the industry, however, know how important this asset is to their portfolio.

Once upon a time, the crypto world craved a perfectly secure and private asset which can harness the use of cryptocurrency privately without the possibility of it being traced back to the owner.

Then came the answer by way of Zcash.

With security and privacy becoming a top priority for businesses and individuals across the globe especially in this year, it is important to note that this may be the year for Zcash.

For a coin priced at 45.81 USD at the time of writing this article, Zcash has very strong potentials that are likely to make it hit a projected end-of-year price nearing 100 USD.

That’s to say we are projecting a more than 100% increase in the price of Zcash by the time this year ends.

So, if you invest 500 USD in Zcash now, you are likely to have 1000 USD at the end of the year.

Electroneum

A year or two after its crazy hype and shout for max adoption, Electroneum has almost lost its glitz and glamour.

Fortunately, Richard Ellis and his team seem to be doing lots of works behind the scenes. Following the coronavirus outbreak, Electroneum has seen some steady growth, currently trading at 0.008 USD per coin which has become a new high since 2018.

Electroneum has made some major collaborations this year and is hoping to capitalize on that and its quest for global adoption to go crazy by the end of the year.

If previous trends are anything to go by in addition to the current look of the charts, then Electroneum (ETN) could end this year as one of the biggest gainers.

We expecting a year-closing price of around 0.30 USD per ETN coin.

Which means, if you buy an electroneum coin now, by the end of this year, you should be expecting to make 0.292 USD per coin.
This translates into 3,650% growth.

Conclusion

As I always say, investments are very risky whether it is an investment in cryptocurrencies or money funds.
Therefore, you are the best person to decide which assets you want to invest in. We do not provide any form of financial advice to you in terms of investing or not investing.

Prices given here in this article are purely based on speculations and trends from past years – which may be entirely wrong or right.

However, the cryptocurrency market is definitely bound to experience some important growths by the end of this year.

If you have other thoughts concerning this topic, kindly share them with us in the comment box below.

May 26, 2020
How to send money for free with MTN Mobile Money using this simple app
Mobile Money transactions in Ghana keep on growsing, and with a growing concern over Coronavirus and the threat, it posses via cash transactions, a lot more people have now switched to Mobile Money payments.

In Ghana MTN Mobile Money, AirtelTigo Money and Vodafone Cash are the most used phone number susbscriber based Mobile Money Service.

However, the charges associated with Mobile Money is something that discourages people from using it.

Recently, daily transactions of up to GHS 100 were made free. Although Mobile Money providers are looking for ways to end that since they claim it is hurting their revenue.

We have found a new way for you to send multiples of GHS 400 via your Mobile Money to other people without paying for any charges.

This tutorial is very short and works. You will have to use an App called Waya App.

How to use Waya App to send Mobile Money for free
1. Download the Waya App on Android or iOS
2. Register your account with your real details
3. Choose Pay on the menu bar
4. Choose Contact
5. Select your Fund Source and choose “Add Mobile Money”
6. Send up to GHS 400
7. Confirm to make payment
Kindly note that you only need to register your account once on the app. Once that is done, you can always open the app and send money to other Mobile Money users.

Waya Money also makes it easy to send money from your Mobile Money account straight to another Mobile Money or Bank in Nigeria and Kenya.

Have any other Mobile Money hacks to share with us? Send them to [email protected] and we will be in touch.
May 22, 2020
How to get & link UBA AfriCard or FAB Prepaid Card to PayPal in Ghana
Ghana is blacklisted by PayPal and that’s why we go through a lot of steps to get a PayPal account.

However, the good thing is that you don’t need to go through a lot of stress to withdraw your hard-earned money that is in your PayPal account.

In fact, a lot of the people who will tell you it is difficult simply to want to take advantage of your quest to get your money fast and offer you very low rates for your money.

I have been withdrawing money from my PayPal account since late 2017 when I first had my UBA AfriCard.

Apart from that, it is now very easy to withdraw from PayPal because the First Atlantic Bank (FAB) Prepaid Card takes less than 5 minutes to get in any of their branches.

To withdraw your money from PayPal in Ghana, you need the following:
1. UBA AfriCard / First Atlantic Bank Prepaid Card / Access Bank Prepaid
2. PayPal Account (You can learn how to create one here)
Please note that you can link a wide variety of cards to your PayPal account but the three cards listed above are the only ones you can withdraw from.

How to get First Atlantic Bank Prepaid Card for PayPal in Ghana

Although we recommend using UBA AfriCard, you can also use the FAB Prepaid Card (which is easier to get) or the Access Bank Prepaid Card (same requirements as UBA AfriCard).

To get an FAB Prepaid Card you need to take your valid ID Card and a minimum deposit of GHS 20 to the nearest First Atlantic Bank branch.

They will walk you through the process at the bank and you should have your card in less than 30 minutes.

How to get a UBA AfriCard in Ghana

The UBA AfriCard is one of the best debit prepaid cards in Ghana and West Africa as a whole. It works with most ATMs, POS and online transactions.

I have personally used the card in more than 3 countries and it still works perfectly well. And this is the same card that I got from UBA Ghana.

When you walk to the UBA Bank branch for the AfriCard, you will be asked to provide the following details:
- Tax Identification Number – TIN
- Valid National ID
- Initial Deposit – around GHS 50
Once you have them, here is how to get your UBA AfriCard instantly:
1. Walk to the nearest UBA Branch
2. Ask at the enquiries desk that you will want to get a UBA AfriCard
3. You may be encouraged to open a bank account there but this is not really important
4. When getting the card, deposit GHS 50 on it
5. After that, the Bank will get you the card and give you instructions on how to use it.
Please note that the steps to get the UBA AfriCard is the same for getting a new Access Bank Prepaid Card.

How to add your UBA AfriCard (or any other card) to your PayPal Account
1. Log in to Paypal using this link: paypal.com/ls by using your email and password.
2. In the notification area, at the top right-hand corner. Click on it, You will be requested to link a Credit Card (Master Card/Visa Card).
3. You will be directed to a page to input your card details, in that case, input your UBA Visa Card Details or the details of the particular card you are using (FAB or Access Bank).
4. Next, Click on the Continue tab after entering your Card details
5. When done, a small fee will be debited from your Card by Paypal like a Dollar or so, then sent back again to confirm the authenticity of the Card
6. After that, a page will appear where you will be asked to enter a confirmation page to fully verify your account
7. Now, check your mobile phone or email, a text message confirmation of the Paypal transaction is sent to the mobile number you used in obtaining your Visa Card
8. Now you get a combination of numbers and words. The numbers in front of the word CODE in the combination is what you will input in the verification field
9. After you have entered the code, your account is all set up to start receiving and sending money even while in Ghana
Conclusion

If you need any help getting a UBA AfriCard or withdrawing your paypal funds here in Ghana, try to drop a question and we will get back to you on it.
May 20, 2020
How To Pay Your Ghana Water Bill Using Mobile Money
Mobile Money platforms have become one of the most accessible financial systems in Ghana since its launch some ten years ago.

Aside from sending money and receiving money from friends and family, the mobile money platform is mainly used for settling bills.

Water bills are one of those bills that people tend to pay for using the mobile money platform.

In times like this when the world is moving to online platforms and payments, it is important for people to identify how to capitalise on already existing online systems so as to reduce physical contacts with others.

In this article, we shall look at how to pay your water bill using the various mobile money platforms.

How To Pay Your Water Bill Using MTN Mobile Money

To pay your water bill with your MTN Mobile Money, you may either use the shortcode system or the MTN Ghana App.

Follow the steps below to pay your water bill using the MTN Mobile money platform.
1. Dial *170#
2. Select option 2 for Momo Pay and Bills.
3. Select option 2 for Pay Bill
4. Select Option 1 for Utilities.
5. Select option 2 for Ghana Water.
6. Enter your Account Number (Your Meter Number).
7. Enter the amount you are paying.
8. Enter your mobile money pin code.
Your payment should go through after the final step.

How To Pay Your Water Bill Using Vodafone Cash

Vodafone cash is the second biggest mobile money platform in Ghana. Most people who are not on the MTN Mobile Money platform are usually on the Vodafone Cash platform.

To make payment for your water bill using the Vodafone Cash platform, follow these steps.
1. Dial *110#
2. Select option 4 for ‘Make Payment’
3. Select option 1 for Bill Payment
4. Choose option 3 for utilities.
5. Select option 1 for Ghana Water.
6. Enter your Account Number or Meter Number
7. Enter the amount you wish to pay.
8. Enter your Vodafone cash PIN Code.
How To Pay Your Water Bill Using AirtelTigo Cash

Of all the various Mobile Money platforms, AirtelTigo has the simplest methods of paying your water bill. Check it out below:
1. Dial *500#
2. Select Option 3 for Pay Bills.
3. Select ‘Ghana Water’
4. Enter your amount.
5. Enter your AirtelTigo cash PIN code.
Conclusion

Paying your bills with mobile money does not only provide convenience but also, it reduces the risks of physical contacts which is a threat to health and well-being in these times of COVID-19.

Depending on the mobile money platform available to you, kindly follow the steps listed in this article in order to make payments for your water bill.

Kindly note that these steps are the reviewed steps as most of the mobile money platforms have updated their systems.

If you have any enquiries or comments regarding this article, do not hesitate to leave us a comment.
May 20, 2020
Waya Money – Solving cross-border payments across Africa

For as long as I can remember, sending money or making payment from one African country to another was a very difficult task; even when you used international banks across Africa.

A simple task of making payment from Ghana to a country like Togo was quite difficult and frankly so expensive. If you owed a person 500 Ghana cedis in Togo, it was cheaper and faster to physically take a bus across the border to deliver the money in person than sending 500 Ghana cedis through a bank and paying almost 300 Ghana cedis in transfer charges and waiting for three (3) days for the person to receive the money.

Now this problem that has hampered intercontinental trade and commerce in Africa for years is being solved by one of the newest and most innovative companies emerging in the fintech space called “Waya”.

Waya via their platform “Waya Money” is here to ensure that payments and transfers across Africa are as simple and as instant as local mobile money transfers.

Waya through its financial technology is providing cross-border and cross-network payment and money transfer solutions for Africans through their interoperability platform that connects with banks, mobile money operators and other digital payments providers.

Currently Waya allows people in Ghana to pay money to people and businesses in Nigeria and Kenya; those in Nigeria can also pay money to people and businesses in Ghana and Kenya; and people in Kenya can pay money directly to those in Ghana and Nigeria. Waya does not have a wallet, instead money is paid directly into a mobile money wallet or a bank account instantly or near real-time. If payment is not made within 30 mins, the money is returned to the sender without a charge or fee.

A person using Waya can simply transfer 5 Ghana cedis from their “momo wallet” to a bank account in Nigeria to make a payment. That sounds amazing right?

Download the Waya App

To use Waya; you can download the app on play store by clicking on this link: https://bit.ly/wayapp1or search for “Waya” on Google Play store.

For iOS users and for those who prefer the web app; simply click on this link: https://bit.ly/wayaweb1 to create an account and start making cross-border transfers to Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya.

For Ghanaians: If you are currently a user in Ghana; you get to enjoy free money transfers from your Mobile money account to all networks in Ghana.

And although Waya is currently available in Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya; they are projected to be available in South Africa, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Liberia, Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone soon.

May 18, 2020
How To Use Mypaga.com Mobile Services To Transfer Money, Pay Bills & More
Paga is a name that is widely recognized both in Nigeria and in other African countries; it is a popular platform for mobile transactions, which allow its users to make payments, pay bills, transfer money and buy subscriptions by simply using their mobile phones.

Although Paga has been in existence for quite a long time. It was brought into Nigeria in 2009 by Tayo Oviosu and starts operation fully in 2011.

Paga was founded in Nigeria to take advantage of the cash buildup in the system and also to create a platform that would make financial transaction and services available to all.

The relationship between the Nigerian banks and the telecommunication services has been awesome over the years, and this has given rise to many financial platforms like Paga, where a layman could literarily perform almost all financial transaction on a mobile phone.

With a platform like Paga, customers can easily deposit money, save money, transfer money, purchase prepaid phone credit, pay for a cable subscription, pay electricity bills and also make payments to retailers. It’s also possible to receive money sent through western union into your personal Paga account.

We have a lot of Paga outlets across every nook and cranny of all cities in this country, I could particularly count up to hundreds of outlets in my city of residence; these outlets have Paga agents who serve as ATMs to people in their vicinity, the agent uses his or her mobile phone to process transactions with a token to be paid to him as service fee.

Customers/users of Paga can be grouped into three different levels; level one customers are those that registered with a full name and a mobile number and are thereby limited to make a transaction of 50000 Naira or less daily; level two customers are those that registered with their full name, mobile number, full address and ID card details, these users could make a transaction of #200000 or less daily; level three customers could transact up to 5 million Naira per day and have two references and a credit check on file in addition to the information provided in level two.

How to Open a Paga Account

We have several ways of opening an account with Paga, we are going to be discussing four of them in this article.
- Visit www.myPaga.com and click on the “get started” icon at the top right corner of the screen.
- Visit any Paga outlets across the country and provide the agents with your personal information to get register.
- You could also open an account on your mobile phone, just dial *242# and follow the instructions to register.
- Download the Paga mobile application on google play store or IOS store, select “sign up” and follow the instructions to get started.
- You could also upgrade your account to other levels using any of the methods above
How to Perform Various Financial Transactions on Paga Platform

There are many methods that has been made available to perform various transactions on Paga, these transactions include sending money, requesting for money, withdrawing cash, paying bills and others.

Explained below are the steps involved in performing financial transactions on Paga:

How to Perform Paga Transactions Using the Official Paga Website – myPaga.com
- Go to http://www.myPaga.com/send.html
- Sign in If you already have an existing account; you could simply signup of you’re new to the platform.
- Link your bank account to your Paga account by simply using your ATM card, fill in the details required.
- Deposit the amount you want to transfer to your Paga wallet.
- Click on “send money” icon and fill in the transaction details, this includes the beneficiary’s mobile number, account number and the amount you want to send
- Confirm the details you entered and enter your PIN to complete the transaction.
How to Perform Paga Transactions Using the Official Mobile App
- After you must have downloaded the application on google play store or IOS store, simply enter your account details if you have one, or sign up if you’re new to the platform.
- Simply deposit the money needed for your transaction into your wallet; all you need to get this done is your ATM card details.
- Various icons that denotes the various transaction services would be displayed on the first page.
- Choose the icon that depicts the operation you want to perform
- Enter your PIN to finalize your financial transaction.
How to Perform Paga Transactions Using USSD
- Enter *242# on your mobile phone
- Your Paga account number will be made available at the right corner of your screen
- Various options would be listed beneath your account number; these include, balance, send money, request money, pay bills, airtimes and so on.
- Choose the option that applies to you and follow the Instructions that pops up
- Input your password to finalize your transaction.
Conclusion

Aside the Banking transactions offered through the mobile payment application and websites, there is also a Paga checkpoint payment platform that business owners and merchants can integrate on their own websites; clients of these businesses also have the option of sending and receive payments through Paga mobile services and agent outlets.

Many customers and business owners across the country are rapidly adapting to emerging inventions that are making financial services accessible to the growing population at almost no cost.

There are certain measures that have been put in place by Paga to protect its users from been scammed; one of such measures is answering various security questions before accessing your Paga account on a new smartphone, there is also a personal PIN to be inputted by users before any transaction is finalized.
May 16, 2020
Comparing G-Money With Mobile Money in Ghana; Who Wins?

With the introduction of GCB Bank’s G-Money, the debate has been about which one is better between G-Money and Mobile Money services.

The G-Money is obviously inspired by mobile money services and so it works on the same infrastructure as mobile money however, there are definitely some differences between the two e-wallets.

In this article, we shall endeavour to compare the two wallets to see which one has more advantage over the other.

Registration

The Mobile Money service as it stands now only requires you to dial the shortcode on your phone and follow the prompts to register. Meaning, you can register from the comfort of your home.

On the other hand, the G-Money requires that customers go to any GCB Bank branch or G-Money agent with a national ID card and your phone number to register. Which means you have to go to the bank to register for this service at all costs.

For this particular feature, Mobile Money provides more convenience.

Security

Whereas the Mobile Money is backed by the various telecommunication networks in Ghana, the G-Money is backed by the GCB Bank which is a government-owned bank.

As such, it is safe to say that in terms of security of funds and regulations, G-Money has the edge or advantage over the Mobile Money wallets.

Sending Money

In terms of sending money, both Mobile Money wallets and G-money seem to be on the same level. You can send money to any network or bank account via both Mobile Money platforms and G-Money platforms.

You can as well send money to individuals who do not have accounts with either platform via payment vouchers.

Who Can Use The Platform?

For both platforms, anyone who has a registered Simcard can use the platform irrespective of their age, gender, or orientation.

So, for this particular feature , it’s a tie for both e-wallets.

How Many People Can Use The Same Account?

Over here, there is a big gap. The Mobile Money platform allows only one person to use an account. So, if you have an account, only you can have access to and use that account except you give out your PIN CODE to someone else who can then have access to the account.

However, G-Money, on the other hand, has a Group option which allows a user to add between three to two hundred members who share the same account.

With this option, people looking to save money together for a purpose can do that from one point. Of the number of people listed above, one person is the group leader and another is the authorizer.

So, on this particular feature, G-Money has the edge over Mobile Money.

Conclusion

Though both the Mobile Money platform and the G-Money platforms are good initiatives that are shaping the Ghanaian economy towards making it a cashless economy, we believe that based on the comparisons above, the G-Money has won this argument hands down.

This debate may, however, be looked at from different angles, which may as well provide other results. You can share with us what you think about the debate and any opposing views you have regarding our judgement. We would love to read from you.

May 9, 2020