Founded in 1957 at Accra, the Bank of Ghana (BoG), the active player in financial policy and a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, is all set to overhaul its payments system with a new Fintech unit.
According to a feature by Dr SettorAmediku, Head of the Payment Systems Department in Central Bank Payments News, Ghana payment systems has witnessed major transformations on account of the Fintech firms and innovative technology. Based on the departmental survey, 71 Fintechs currently provide both front- and back-end services to the country’ s banking sector.
In order to meet the diverse economic and financial transformation in the payments system, regulatory reform has been proposed by the BoG. In 2015, Electronic Money Issuers and Agent Guidelines were released, which resolved the operational challenges faced by digital financial service in Ghana. These strategies became a benchmark as they represented a broader vision to create a regulatory environment for efficient, convenient, safe retail payment, and fund transfers.
Keeping up with the previous modifications in the framework, the BoG is planning a new one for the payment system that is accommodative to new technologies. As part of this new payment systems roadmap over 2019-2024, the central bank has announced the launch of an ‘apex body’ to endorse and trace Fintech growth by the end of the year.
This Fintech unit will be responsible for coordinating information exchange amongst the relevant official.