Despite the challenges encountered throughout the year, the Bank of Ghana affirms its commitment to the pursuit of financial inclusion as a policy objective.
Recognizing its potential for widespread economic growth and poverty alleviation, the central bank asserts that it remained steadfast in using policy and regulatory tools to create a conducive regulatory environment for the promotion of digital financial services, benefitting all economic stakeholders.
Governor Ernest Addison, speaking at the Chartered Institute of Bankers’ Governor’s Day, highlighted that there are currently 52 non-bank payment service providers offering various payment solutions to meet the growing expectations of consumers.
In a bid to further advance fintech activities, he noted that the central bank successfully engaged market players, including banks, DEMIs, PSPs, and MTOs, in the inward remittance termination space.
This engagement aimed to identify issues and implement policies and measures associated with inward remittance termination services, ensuring a level playing field for all market participants.
Moreover, the central bank initiated the first cohort of its Regulatory Sandbox to support innovations in new digital business models. These models, not explicitly or implicitly covered under existing regulations, have the potential to address present financial inclusion challenges.
Also, Dr Addison mentioned that “surveillance and investigations into activities of illegal lending applications have commenced with the identification of over 200 loan apps offering unapproved and unlicensed lending products to the Ghanaian consumer”.
In response, he said that financial institutions were cautioned to use only digital credit products that have been approved by the Bank of Ghana in two distinct public notices that were published in August 2022 and July 2023.
To this effect, he said the bank “continuously engaged Google’s Regulatory and Policy unit, which facilitated the removal and barring of 200 loan apps from the Google Play Store”.
Since then, Dr Addison said, “Google has reviewed their Personal Loan Policy to restrict these lending apps from accessing device information including SMS and contacts”.
Furthermore, he declared that, in cooperation with the Economic Organised Crime Office (EOCO), Cyber Security Authority (CSA) Ghana, and the Ghana Police Service, the central bank conducted a sweep resulting in the apprehension of 420 individuals, including three foreigners, in July 2023.