Thousands of Ghana's small traders and mobile money merchants have long been shut out of formal credit — not because they do not earn, but because they cannot show a bank a piece of land or property. A new three-way partnership announced on November 10, 2026 is trying to change that math entirely.
FirstBank Ghana, Mobile Money Fintech Ltd (MMFL) and global credit-tech firm Optasia have jointly launched the FirstCredit Merchant Loan — a digital loan product that offers eligible MTN MoMo merchants, informal traders and small businesses fast, collateral-free access to short-term working capital.
How the Three-Way Deal Works
The structure is straightforward but deliberate. FirstBank Ghana provides the actual loans. MMFL — which operates the MTN MoMo platform — gives merchants the access point to apply and receive funds. Optasia plugs in its AI-powered credit-decisioning technology to assess eligibility based on mobile money transaction data, not physical assets. Optasia's Ghanaian subsidiary, XtraMFS, handles local support on the ground.
Rather than requiring collateral, the product looks at a merchant's MoMo transaction volumes and payment flows to determine how much credit they can access. Approved funds land directly in the merchant's mobile money account — cutting out the long approval queues that have always made traditional bank loans impractical for daily traders.
Merchants can use the loan for inventory purchases or to plug short-term cash flow gaps. Repayment terms, applicable charges and the total amount due are shown upfront before a merchant accepts the loan. As transaction and repayment histories build up, borrowing limits may increase over time, subject to continued assessment.
What the Partners Are Saying
Osahon Ogieva, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of FirstBank Ghana, framed the launch as a direct response to a gap the bank has watched persist for years.
"Many of Ghana's merchants and small traders run their businesses on daily cash flows, yet have struggled to access credit because they have no tangible collateral. With FirstCredit Merchant Loan, a merchant's mobile money transaction history helps us assess their financing needs and repayment capacity, so we can put working capital in their hands quickly and conveniently."
Shaibu Haruna, Chief Executive Officer of MMFL, described the deal as a demonstration of what platform partnerships can deliver when they are built around actual customer needs.
"This partnership between FirstBank Ghana and Optasia demonstrates how we can combine our strengths to give eligible merchants access to working capital through MTN MoMo, helping them manage everyday business needs and pursue growth opportunities."
Haruna added that MMFL intends to keep building out similar partnerships to deliver "practical financial solutions" that strengthen customer financial health and support business resilience.
Salvador Anglada, Group Chief Executive Officer of Optasia, pointed to merchant lending as a core part of Optasia's broader ambition to build financial services around how small businesses actually operate — not how banks traditionally expect them to.
"By combining our intelligence with FirstBank Ghana's lending expertise and MMFL's reach, we can help make credit more responsive to business activity while maintaining discipline in how it is assessed."
Why This Signals a Bigger Shift
Ghana's informal economy is vast. Countless traders — from market women to corner-shop operators — are registered MTN MoMo merchants who process real, verifiable transactions daily but remain invisible to traditional credit scoring systems. The FirstCredit Merchant Loan model essentially turns that transaction data into a financial identity.
The use of AI-driven credit assessment to serve previously unbanked or underbanked traders is growing across Africa, but partnerships that combine a licensed bank, a major mobile money operator and an AI credit engine under one product are still relatively rare in Ghana. If the model scales, it could reshape how working capital flows to the country's informal sector — which is exactly the bet all three partners appear to be making.
The product is available to registered MTN MoMo merchants who meet the eligibility criteria set through Optasia's assessment process.