Prospecting willingness and the amount to pay for digital payment solutions in the cocoa value chain in Ghana

Abstract Transactional efficiency and safety in Ghana’s cocoa value chain are hampered by excessive cash usage. The study aims to explore the potential of integrating digital payments into the cocoa value chain as a solution to the limitations and risks associated with cash-based cocoa trade and business transactions in Ghana. The study involved 311 respondents, comprising 268 farmers and 43 purchasing clerks, sampled from the Ahafo, Ashanti, and Eastern regions. The primary estimations for establishing this prospect are the willingness to pay for digital financial services, estimated using logit regression, and the amount to pay for digital financial services, estimated using Tobit regression. Sex, age, income, weekly transaction value, and the perception of digital payments as a solution to cash limitations are established to be statistically significant determinants of willingness to pay for DFS, while sex, age, education, income, weekly transaction value, and the perception of DFS as a solution to cash limitations are found to be the significant determinants of the amount respondents are willing to pay for digital financial services. The study’s conclusions are relevant for value chain efforts and policymaking towards the development of the digital payments ecosystem and the inclusion of vulnerable groups in digital financial services.