What mobile money actually costs a church in Ghana
By Emmanuel Akyeam, Founder of Fold
In short
Receiving mobile money costs a church in Ghana around 1.95 percent per gift through the major processors, so a GHS 500 tithe costs about ten cedis. The number to check is any minimum fee per transaction: a 30 pesewa minimum turns a GHS 5 offering into a 6 percent charge, three times the headline rate. Model fees on the amounts your congregation actually gives, and check settlement time, onboarding documents and whether all three networks are accepted.
Mobile money is the obvious way for a church to accept giving from members who are not in the building, and providers advertise a straightforward percentage. What that headline rate does not tell you is what it costs on the amounts churches actually collect.
The percentage is the easy part
Rates in Ghana cluster closely. At the time of writing the major processors charge around 1.95 per cent on mobile money, and the differences between them are small enough that price alone should not decide it. How to set it up for a church is a separate piece.
On a GHS 500 tithe, that is about ten cedis. Reasonable, and comparable to what handling and banking cash costs in time.
The minimum fee is what to look at
Some processors apply a minimum charge per transaction, often around 30 pesewas. On a large tithe that is invisible. On a GHS 5 offering it is six per cent, three times the advertised rate.
This matters more for churches than for most businesses, because a congregation gives in many small amounts rather than a few large ones. Two hundred members giving GHS 10 each is a very different fee bill from two members giving GHS 1,000.
| Gift | At 1.95 percent, no minimum | At 1.95 percent with a 30 pesewa minimum | Effective rate with the minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| GHS 5 | About GHS 0.10 | GHS 0.30 | 6 percent |
| GHS 10 | About GHS 0.20 | GHS 0.30 | 3 percent |
| GHS 100 | GHS 1.95 | GHS 1.95 | 1.95 percent |
| GHS 500 | GHS 9.75 | GHS 9.75 | 1.95 percent |
| How it was given | Fee at 1.95 percent, no minimum | Fee with a 30 pesewa minimum |
|---|---|---|
| 200 members giving GHS 10 each | GHS 39.00 | GHS 60.00 |
| 2 members giving GHS 1,000 each | GHS 39.00 | GHS 39.00 |
Model your fees on the amounts your congregation actually gives, not on the headline rate.
What else to check before signing up
- Whether there is a minimum fee, and what it is. This is the number that will surprise you
- How long settlement takes. Daily settlement is common; some processors hold funds two or three days
- What documents onboarding requires. Some accept a Ghana Card and a personal payout account; others require full business registration, an operating permit and a district assembly licence
- Whether the account can accept all three networks, MTN, Telecel and AirtelTigo, or only some
Keep cash first
The strongest argument for mobile money is not that it replaces the offering bowl. It is that it catches the giving that would otherwise not happen: the member who is travelling, the one who is ill, the one who forgot to draw cash.
A church that makes mobile money the main path will exclude the members who do not use it, and in most congregations that is still a large number of people, often the oldest and most faithful. Cash should stay the default and mobile money should sit beside it.
Sources
Part of Running a church in Ghana: the complete guide, which covers the register, attendance, giving, the statistical return and more, each with free templates.