Central Bank to Enhance Cross-Border Payments with New Tools

The Bank of Ghana is implementing new regulatory and digital infrastructure initiatives to improve cross-border payments and foster inclusive economic growth across Africa. These efforts aim to address challenges related to payment interoperability, regulatory trust, and consumer protection that currently hinder intra-African trade.

FinTech Passport Initiative

The Bank of Ghana is collaborating with the Bank of Rwanda on the FinTech Passport, a framework designed to enable cross-border licensing of fintech firms. This initiative promotes regulatory trust between participating countries and has the potential to facilitate seamless payments across African markets. The model is envisioned as scalable across the continent to support greater trade and financial integration.

Next Generation Digital Public Infrastructure

The Bank of Ghana’s Next Generation Digital Public Infrastructure initiative is currently undergoing testing. This includes multilateral interoperability frameworks, settlement modules, and future cross-border currency arrangements. The goal is to establish a more integrated and resilient African payment ecosystem.

Virtual Asset Service Providers Act

The recently enacted Virtual Asset Service Providers Act is intended to support emerging digital payment channels while prioritizing consumer protection and effective risk oversight. The Act provides a regulatory tool to manage these evolving payment methods.

Payment Systems as Critical Infrastructure

The Bank of Ghana emphasizes the importance of payment systems as critical national and continental infrastructure. Strong cybersecurity measures, effective regulatory coordination, and trusted governance frameworks are considered essential to support these systems. The broader objective of these reforms is to promote inclusive growth and ensure that Africa’s digital and financial transformation benefits all segments of society.