Vice President of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has called for a strategic shift in policy direction among African Central Banks, advocating for mobile money interoperability as a priority over the creation of a common currency.
Dr. Bawumia made these remarks during the inaugural day of the APN Continental Mobile Interoperability Symposium held in Accra.
In his keynote address at the symposium themed “Scaling Up Interoperability: Using Mobile Money to Buy & Sell Across Africa,” Dr. Bawumia emphasized the transformative potential of digital payment systems in fostering seamless trade across the continent.
He argued that while the concept of a common currency had historical merit, technological advancements have rendered it obsolete.
“The idea of a common currency, which originated in 1963, has really been overtaken by the digital payment age. Today, you can think about mobile money as a common currency. If we make it interoperable, we don’t need to have a common currency before we get the benefits,” Dr. Bawumia asserted.
Highlighting the challenges of achieving macro-economic convergence for a common currency, Dr. Bawumia proposed shifting focus towards achieving digital payment convergence criteria.
He stressed that enhancing mobile money interoperability would enable African citizens to engage in seamless cross-border transactions, thereby boosting economic activities.
At the symposium, Dr. Ernest Addison, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), commended the Africa Prosperity Network (APN) for facilitating a platform where policymakers and industry leaders could exchange insights on enhancing Africa’s financial landscape.
“Seminars like this create a critical platform for knowledge exchange and informed decision-making, which are pivotal to the economic growth of our continent,” Dr. Addison remarked.
He highlighted the alignment of initiatives promoting cross-border payment interoperability with BoG’s broader agenda of financial digitization and inclusion.
The APN Continental Mobile Interoperability Symposium is organized by the Africa Prosperity Network in collaboration with the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), aiming to foster collaboration and innovation in digital financial systems across Africa.
The symposium continues to draw participation from key stakeholders across the continent, reflecting a shared commi