Finance

In the past few years, Ghana has become a fastly thriving market for mobile money. The registered accounts have reportedly increased six-fold from 3.8M in 2012 to 23.9 M in 2017 with the emergence of various mobile money service operators. MTN Ghana dominates the list. But why are Ghanaians so enamored by mobile money? Why is it a King in Ghana?

1. Greater Access to Mobile Phone

One of the most prominent factors responsible for the rise of mobile money and operators such as MTN Ghana is the growing number of mobile phone users. The number of mobile phone users is larger than the number of normal bank account users too. It makes mobile money accessible, even in rural areas. It also prevents the cost of traveling to the bank as well as reduces risks related to thievery. Furthermore, mobile money banking provides various other utilities- utilities such as paying loans, taxes, insurance, gift cards, and even e-coupons- besides just sending and receiving money.

2. New Laws and Acts

The growth of mobile money in Ghana is also partly due to the right regulatory environment and its various supportive rules and Acts. The laws and regulations back in 2008 were highly restrictive towards most of the initiatives. But later on, Bank of Ghana (BoG) agreed to take a second glimpse at the regulations and came up with e-Money Issuer Guidelines (2015), which gave more scope to mobile money.

Other key initiatives include the first interoperable system (first in the whole of Africa), which Ghana launched in May 2018. It allowed transactions between different mobile service providers across the continent as well as the globe. Adoption of mobile wallets by Ghanaians is also a credential factor in the rise of mobile money transactions.

One of the newest laws- Electronic Payment & Financial Services Law (July 2019) – allows banks to operate their own mobile money vending points directly. This law, supported by the Payments Systems & Services Act, will provide increased power to BoG to regulate the mobile money market.

3. Financial Inclusion

Mobile money, digital payment, and e-banking play pivotal roles in Ghana’s plan for the expansion of financial inclusion. Ghana doesn’t lack in the number of bank outlets. Yet, only 3/10 Ghanaians are bank account holders. Mobile money, along with numerous partnerships between banks and telecom companies, has made tremendous efforts to reach these unbanked populations. 1 out of 5 Ghanaians uses mobile money for daily transactions. This money movement affects credit availability as they end up in banks. Linking a user’s mobile number with his/her bank account encourages the unbanked populations to open their bank account, with the assurance that they can oversee their money via their phones.

Each and every one of us has surely come across schemes where we as buyers are given some cash discount, even if some of us haven’t, we surely have heard about it. Businessmen have studied the behavioral change in buyers when cash discounts are implemented. There is an increased rate of customer loyalty for businesses providing the best cash discount program. This success has given rise to the thought of ISO’s about in their business as well. Before deciding on whether or not this will be a good idea, it is important to know its benefits.

Benefits of cash discount program

Implementing the best cash discount program has certain benefits. Some of them are:

• Less money

There will be a subsequent decrease in the amount that a merchant would have usually paid for using the credit card devices. It is one of the major reasons for the introduction of cash discounts by businessmen. Whenever a customer makes card payments, the merchants are required to give a certain amount for the transaction facility. With the best cash discount program, the merchant gets the facility to pay less for the transaction facilities.

Now, merchants can avail of the benefits of using a card machine without being afraid of losing a certain amount. A flat rate is charged by the bank under a cash discount which covers the processing fee. This scheme will make merchants comfortable with merchant account sellers and they would try their services.

• Loyal customers

The second impact that implementing the best cash discount program would have on a business is that merchants would develop certain respect and loyalty towards the bank as they allow them to build up their business without being tied to any strings. Generally, merchants, we’re required to sign a long contract with their banks, stating that they cannot stop using the merchant services anytime they want, they have to use it for a certain period of time and only then can they decide on whether to keep using it or not.

With Cash Discount Program, there is no legal contract that is to be signed and it depends on the merchant whether or not he wants to avail of this service. A free trial is given, and if the merchants are satisfied with it, they can take the necessary steps to get another one.

• Win the race

Merchant selling accounts is not a small business but a huge one with many competitors. In today’s world, the importance of cashless transactions is known to all and merchants are trying to bring changes in their business by accepting the cashless transactions as well. The market is huge and so are the competitors. It is very important to stand as a successful merchant among many others, for this, the introduction best cash discount program is a good idea.

Conclusion

To make sales, it is important to stand out of the box. Merchants are in the lookout for something new and unique which salesmen have yet not come across and have not offered. If they come across one such scheme, they are ready to grab the opportunity. This is what makes cash discounts important.

2020 has seen unparalleled levels of international monetary disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Share market segments collapsed and the price of gold rose by 15% in merely a number of months. Some state this is typically the beginning a bull run especially now, with Bank of America now predicting gold prices reaching S$3, 000/oz.

Let’s look at the case for gold reaching highs of $3,000 before the end of the year

There are over 4 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 400,000 deaths worldwide. Not only is COVID-19 a health scare it has also been particularly disruptive to the global economy. Countries went on lockdown for weeks and only now a few of them are re-opening their financial systems. However, we might be glad to get the economy going but the risk of a second wave of infections is high. The problem is that this is a new virus that scientists are still trying to figure out, so we might be a long wag away from a successful vaccine and successful remedies.

Recently Goldman Sachs stated: The downturn will end up being 4 times worse than the International Financial Crisis (GFC). In the U.S economic activity dropped by 35% in second-quarter and unemployment may hit 15%.

The IMF forecasts around the world GDP would go down to less than 3% this year and recuperate to be able to +5. 2% within next year if pandemic ends by the second half of 2020. The particular coronavirus health problems can be followed by a coronavirus debt crisis. Global government authorities have responded to COVID-19 with substantial stimulus packages and therefore resulting in the printing of trillions of dollars in new money.

Bank of America (BoA) predicted that gold would hit $3, 000/oz by October 2021. BoA stated that with an official recession on the rise monetary authorities will be poised to buy gold in large amounts of financial assets and increase the sizes of their balance sheets.

Global gold supply is already having difficulties increasing each and every year and it will become more difficult plus more costly to find more gold.

Precious metals like gold perform best any time interest rates are reduced, and today we certainly have historically low rates.

 Historically, the yellow metal has proven to be able to be the most effective safe-haven.

The reduction in gold demand in China and India may affect the price of gold. Jewellery takes up the most amount of gold produced. The demand might have declined over the last decade it still make up for 50% of the total global gold demand.  

A more powerful US dollar may suggest a lower gold price.

Recovery from COVID-19 may be quick, and could improve and lower sentiment towards gold investment.

The BoA might be right in saying the Federal Reserve cannot print gold. The scarcity of gold in addition to a centuries long-held belief of gold being a preserver of wealth, implies investors will constantly seek gold. If only we could meet the global demand that grow year on year but we can’t. Whilst gold supply dwindles, fiat currencies like the US dollar flood the market as printing presses run 24/7 to print new money.

Whatever happens, it would be wise for investors and to buy gold as a hedge against the collapse of the global economy and fiat currencies.

Trading gold is the dream job of many people. You might take the trades in the currency pairs but when you can say you trade gold for a living, it sounds cooler. Well, it’s not about the fancy wording, but rather about the profit factors. Gold trading can be extremely profitable and easy due to the nature of the asset. However, rookies in the UK don’t have the skills to trade gold with a high level of accuracy. They are making silly mistakes and losing a decent amount of money. But if you stick to 4 simple rules you can trade the gold like the professionals. Let’s dig into the detail.

Find the trend

You should have the ability to find trends in the market. Without finding the trend in the gold market, it is nearly impossible to make a big profit. Elite traders can change their lives because they know the proper way to analyze the trend. Trend analysis needs to be done in the daily time frame. Only then you will be able to advance to the next stage. When you analyze the trend, make sure you are not listening to rumors. Use the daily chart and try to find a suitable trading spot.

A valid trend line needs to be drawn based on three connecting points. If you miss the connecting points in the trend line, it will be nearly impossible to make a big profit. Use the demo platform and draw the trend lines in different time frames. After you build the confidence to draw the trend line, you will be able to make some great progress.

Simplify your trading method

You must simplify the trading method to survive in the trading industry. If you trade with a complicated trading method, it will be tough to make progress. The professional traders are not able to trade in the lower period because they know a lower time frame doesn’t have a high win rate. However, rookies try to place the trade in the lower chart with the hope that they can take advantage of the market volatility and make a big profit.

Analyze the news

The professional traders always analyze the news. They often use the professional platform from Saxo since it has an integrated news option. If you are looking for a great platform get it here. Once you have access to the live news feed, it won’t be hard to make some big profit. During the news analysis, you need to focus on the economic news of the country that produces the most gold. Focus on the U.S dollar index as well, since the price of gold is measured in U.S dollars. After learning about the complicated method to analyze the major news, you are going to make a decent profit at the market volatility. Take advantage of the news factors to make some serious cash trading gold.

Trade with a valid routine

You have to trade the market with a valid routine to make progress. Professional traders have a very organized trading routine by which they take the trades and make some huge profit. Creating a trading routine might be a challenging task but if you follow the core concepts of trading, it won’t be hard. Take help from the professional traders and they will guide you and help you create a simple trading routine. Things might be tough at the initial stage, but once you care about a trading routine, you will feel the change in your trading method.

Success depends on your approach. If you trade in an organized way, you can expect to make some serious cash. Stop thinking about the low-quality trade setups and trade the market with discipline. Learn new things form the losses you face in gold trading.