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How Networks X helped a client compare loyalty models across mobile money, banking, retail, fuel and travel.
Ghana has the digital payment activity needed to support connected loyalty programmes. The Bank of Ghana reported 23.5 million active mobile money wallets and 8.1 billion transactions during 2024.
That scale creates an opportunity, but a payment does not automatically create loyalty. Consumers still need a reason to return to the same wallet, merchant, bank or service provider.
The market also spans very different sectors. Fuel, groceries, electronics, hotels, airlines, bank cards and mobile money involve different spending frequencies and expectations.
A client engaged Networks X to understand how this fragmented market was developing. The research examined competitor strategies, consumer behaviour, programme economics and growth opportunities.
The central commercial issue was straightforward: which loyalty models could become part of everyday spending, rather than another account or points balance that customers rarely use?
Mobile money and digital payments give providers a practical way to record transactions, issue rewards and communicate with customers. They can also connect programmes to frequent purchases.
However, technology is only the delivery mechanism.
A programme may have an app, customer data and digital rewards but still struggle if registration is difficult, offers feel irrelevant or redemption requires too many steps. Accessibility can also mean supporting USSD and other channels rather than assuming every customer uses a feature-rich smartphone app.
The research therefore looked beyond whether a programme was digital. It considered how customers joined, where they could earn, how quickly rewards became visible and whether the programme created a useful reason to transact again.
The opportunity lies in using payments to reduce friction and improve relevance. The risk is mistaking digital distribution for genuine customer engagement.
Points, cashback, vouchers, instant discounts and tiered benefits can all influence behaviour. Their effectiveness depends on whether customers understand the value and can access it easily.
A generous reward may feel weak if it takes too long to earn or can only be redeemed through a narrow group of merchants. A smaller instant benefit can be more visible and easier to trust.
Coalition programmes add another layer. Wider merchant coverage can increase earning and redemption opportunities, but partners must agree on economics, data access, customer ownership and reward funding.
The client wanted to understand these trade-offs across closed-loop brand programmes and broader partner networks. This included earn-and-burn rules, voucher simplicity, cross-category offers and merchant incentives.
Technology can distribute a reward, but everyday relevance determines whether customers return.
The useful question was not which reward sounded most attractive. It was which mechanism fitted naturally into repeated consumer behaviour.
A grocery programme cannot be assessed like an airline scheme. One relies on frequent, lower-value transactions, while the other may use status and less frequent, higher-value rewards. Banking and mobile money raise different questions around payments, partnerships and transaction data.
Networks X structured the research so the client could compare these models using consistent measures: programme objectives, earning frequency, redemption friction, partner economics, customer data, retention and growth potential.
The research involved 15 unique experts, including ten based in Ghana and five providing regional or international perspectives. Their experience covered payments, telecommunications, banking, retail, customer value management and loyalty strategy.
This gave the client a cross-sector view without treating every programme as one uniform market. It also helped separate transferable features from those shaped by a particular category, customer base or country.
The strongest loyalty proposition is not necessarily the programme with the most features or largest headline reward.
For value-conscious, mobile-first customers, usefulness can matter more: a benefit that is easy to understand, available through familiar channels and redeemable through normal spending.
That creates practical questions for operators. Are rewards visible quickly? Can customers earn across enough transactions? Is redemption simple? Do merchant partners receive enough value to remain engaged? Can customer data be used responsibly to make offers more relevant?
The research helped the client assess these questions across Ghana’s loyalty ecosystem and selected regional comparisons. It moved the discussion beyond whether digital loyalty was growing and towards the mechanics of a commercially sustainable programme.
Networks X connects investors, consulting teams and corporates with relevant experts across fintech, payments and consumer markets worldwide. Exploring an emerging market or customer proposition? Submit a brief to receive project-specific expert profiles, with no retainer or minimum commitment.