Susu in Ghana: how it works, and how to keep your money safe

Susu is the oldest way to save in Ghana, and for traders who are paid in cash every day it is still the most practical one. It comes in two forms, and the risks are different.

A susu collector

A collector comes to your stall or shop every day and takes an agreed amount - the same each day - recording it on a card you keep. At the end of the cycle, usually a month, you get back what you paid in, less the collector’s fee. The fee is usually one day’s contribution a month, which is high for a savings product: you are paying to save, not earning interest. What you get for it is discipline and money kept out of reach of daily spending.

Many collectors also lend to regular savers, which is often the real reason traders use them.

A susu group (rotating savings)

A group - colleagues, traders in one line of a market, a church group - each pays the same amount into a pot every week or month, and each member takes the whole pot in turn. Nobody earns interest and nobody pays a fee; the early takers get an interest-free loan and the late ones a forced saving.

It works on trust. The risk is a member who takes the pot early and stops paying, so keep groups to people you know, write down the order and the amounts, and have everyone sign it.

The risk with collectors

A collector who disappears takes everyone’s savings, and it has happened in Accra many times. A study for the Ghana Co-operative Susu Collectors Association found most collectors working without a Bank of Ghana licence. Money with an unlicensed collector has no protection at all.

The rules are also changing. In 2026 the Bank of Ghana replaced its 2011 microfinance rules with a new framework in which susu collection sits with “last-mile providers”, and every existing microfinance institution has until 31 December 2026 to move into it. Until it settles, check harder, not less.

Before you hand anyone money

• Ask whose collector they are. A collector for a licensed microfinance company or savings and loans company carries its ID and gives its receipts. Check the company on the Bank of Ghana’s list of licensed institutions at https://www.bog.gov.gh.
• An individual collector should belong to the Ghana Co-operative Susu Collectors Association and be able to show it. Ask at the association before you start.
• Keep the card, and make sure every payment is written on it the day you pay. Photograph it now and then.
• Know where the collector’s office is, not only their phone number.
• Do not let a balance build up for months. Take your money at the end of each cycle, even if you put it straight back.

— Checking a financial firm is licensed

Doing the same thing on a phone

Mobile money savings products, and the savings features in bank and fintech apps, take small daily deposits too, pay interest instead of charging a fee, and are run by licensed firms. They lack the collector who turns up at your stall every morning, which for many people is the point of susu.

— Mobile money — Fintech apps in Ghana — Types of bank account — Complaining about a bank or MoMo provider