Formal Savings, Informal Networks, and Hajj Affordability: Evaluating the GCB Hajj Account and Savings Behaviour in Northern Ghana

Abstract

Financing the Hajj pilgrimage in Northern Ghana demands extraordinary economic effort from Muslim households operating in one of the country's poorest regions. This paper investigates the savings strategies employed by prospective pilgrims and Hajj returnees in three communities   Tamale (urban), Sagnarigu (peri-urban), and Kumbungu (rural) and evaluates the role of Ghana's first dedicated Hajj savings product, the GCB Hajj Account, launched in September 2025. Using a mixed-methods design comprising quantitative surveys with 150 Muslim households and semi-structured interviews with 25 participants, including prospective pilgrims, returnees, Islamic scholars, and bank officials, the study documents the persistent dominance of informal savings mechanisms: susu rotating savings groups (68%), home savings (58%), family contributions (52%), and asset liquidation (45%). Formal banking uptake remains low overall (12% GCB Hajj Account adoption) but is notably higher in urban Tamale (24%). Key barriers to formal savings adoption include limited rural branch access, financial illiteracy, and Islamic concerns over interest-bearing products   concerns that the non-interest-bearing GCB account explicitly addresses. Government interventions under President Mahama, including a fare reduction from GH¢75,000 (2024) to GH¢62,000 (2025) with projections for below GH¢50,000 in 2026, and the anti-profit directive for Hajj governance, represent structural progress but remain insufficient for the lowest-income households. We propose an integrated Hajj Financing and Financial Inclusion Framework that combines agent banking expansion, mosque-based financial literacy campaigns, a government Hajj Stabilization Fund, and post-Hajj economic reintegration support. The study contributes to scholarship on Islamic finance, religious savings behaviour, and financial inclusion in low-income West African settings.