Navigating Digital Payments in Ghana's Public Sector

Abstract

The adoption of digital payments presents new opportunities for enhancing public sector service delivery. However, little coherent literature exists on the diffusion of public-sector digital payments, including deployment challenges and successes. This chapter reviews the evidence on the evolution of digital payments in Ghana's public sector. It draws upon stakeholder theory to analyze the diffusion of digital payments for public service delivery in Ghana. This chapter gathered qualitative evidence through expert interviews to map the evolution of public sector digital payments. The findings of this chapter reveal that Ghana's public sector finances are digititalized, leading to a significant reduction in the use of physical cash. Government entities are empowered to access public finance data in real time, supporting better revenue collection, disbursement, and judicious utilization of financial resources. This chapter highlights the need to improve stakeholder engagement as a prerequisite to ensuring increased usage of public sector digital payments.