MoMoPay charges in Ghana: what the merchant pays, what the customer pays
MoMoPay in Ghana is free for the paying customer — the merchant pays a commission to MTN/Telecel/AT on each payment received. The merchant commission is typically 1% of the amount, negotiable by monthly volume and sector. Here is the detail by operator, and why MoMoPay beats withdraw-then-pay-cash for the customer.
The merchant commission table
| Operator | Merchant commission | Customer fee | USSD code |
|---|---|---|---|
| MTN MoMoPay | 1% (standard) — negotiable by volume | Free | *170*2# |
| Telecel Cash Merchant | ~1% standard, equivalent to MTN | Free | *110# → Pay |
| AT Money Merchant | ~1% standard, equivalent to MTN | Free | *110# → Pay |
Exact rates vary by merchant contract. Chains (supermarkets, fuel stations) typically negotiate 0.5-0.75%. Very low-volume merchants stay at 1%. Verified June 2026.
Why MoMoPay is better for both parties
For the customer, MoMoPay is free; paying cash after withdrawing costs about 1% (withdrawal fee). For the merchant, MoMoPay avoids cash risk (theft, loss, wrong change), gives a written trail for accounting and URA filing, and enables automatic daily settlement to the bank. The 1% commission is largely offset by these operational gains.
Empirically, Ghanaian chains that switched to MoMoPay as the main channel report a 30-40% drop in checkout time (no bill handling, no counting) and near-total elimination of change errors. That is what justifies absorbing the commission.