A security flaw in the mobile ordering platform of Ghana's Pizzaman Chickenman chain highlights the growing pains of West Africa's mobile money revolution, where consumer protection frameworks have not kept pace with rapid digital payment adoption.
A customer attempting to order pizza through the Chris B app experienced what tech analysts say is a troubling but increasingly common scenario: multiple failed payment attempts that nonetheless resulted in money being deducted from his mobile money account, with no food delivered and no clear path to refund.
"I decided to pay from Mobile Money so the right option was then to select Mobile Money. Having failed 3 times through Hubtel integrated in the app to trigger and pay even entering the OTP received, I kept on receiving these messages of 'User not found,'" the customer detailed in a post documenting the experience.
After three failures, the app prompted him to "Try A New Way" of payment. This alternative method successfully deducted funds—but to a generic invoice system labeled "BILLS INV" rather than directly to the restaurant. No order was created, no refund was processed, and follow-up attempts to resolve the issue proved futile.
Kofi Mensah, a financial technology consultant in Accra, said the incident reflects systemic issues in how mobile money integrates with third-party platforms. "Mobile money in Ghana has leapfrogged traditional banking for millions of people. But the regulatory frameworks, dispute resolution mechanisms, and consumer protections are still catching up," he explained.
Mobile money processed over GH₵1 trillion (approximately $70 billion) in transactions in Ghana last year, according to the Bank of Ghana. The ecosystem spans everything from peer-to-peer transfers to utility payments to e-commerce. But when transactions fail—particularly in multi-party systems involving payment aggregators like Hubtel—determining responsibility and securing refunds becomes complex.
"The customer paid. The money left his account. But the restaurant never received it, so from their perspective no transaction occurred. Meanwhile the payment processor collected the funds but claims they never confirmed an order. Everyone points at someone else," said.
