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The Decline of Cash: Is Africa Ready for a Fully Digital Economy?
Byline: By Kwame Accra, Ghana — At a bustling roadside fruit stand in the suburb of Adabraka, 32-year-old trader Abena Owusu expertly arranges bunches of bananas and pineapples while checking her smartphone for mobile money alerts. “I hardly use physical cash anymore,” she says. “Most of my customers prefer to pay via Momo. It’s quicker, and I don’t have to keep too much change on me.” Once a luxury for the tech-savvy elite, digital payments have become a fixture of everyday life in many African cities. From market vendors to taxi drivers, the decline of cash is visible — and irreversible. But the rapid shift has also exposed deep gaps…