Mobile money, credit to deposit ratio and monetary policy: Empirics from Ghana

The effectiveness of monetary policy in Ghana has been questionable with the advent of mobile money activities, which are gradually replacing some of the roles of commercial banks. This study investigates the effects of mobile money transactions on Ghanaian commercial banks' credit-to-deposit ratio and the effectiveness of the monetary policy rate in the era of mobile money services using ARDL techniques, Granger causality and impulse response functions.

The study reveals that Ghanaian commercial banks' credit-to-deposit ratio decreases with increased mobile money transactions, indicating a substitutability relationship. Banks' credit-to-deposit ratio is impacted by non-performing loans and asset returns, while the monetary policy rate has an insignificant impact. The results from the IRFs also showed that a positive shock to monetary policy reduces banks' credit-to-deposit ratio but increases mobile money transactions and non-performing loans. For policy implications, collaboration between commercial banks and mobile money service providers can be enhanced through interoperability services.