The Bank of Ghana has convened stakeholders across the financial sector to shape its National Payment Systems Strategy for 2025 to 2029, signaling its intent to build on Ghana’s digital payments momentum while tackling emerging threats that could undermine progress.
The stakeholder workshop, which brings together commercial banks, fintech companies, mobile money operators, payment service providers, regulators, and development partners, represents a critical juncture for Ghana’s payments ecosystem. The country’s previous strategy, covering 2019 to 2024, helped establish Ghana as one of Africa’s digital payments leaders, but rapid technological change and new risks demand fresh thinking.
Dr. Zakari Mumuni, First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, opened the session by highlighting Ghana’s achievements over the past five years. Digital payment channels have expanded significantly, interoperability across platforms has deepened, and regulatory frameworks now foster both trust and innovation. These efforts have enhanced access, empowered consumers, and positioned Ghana favorably in regional comparisons.
But Mumuni didn’t sugarcoat the challenges ahead. The global financial landscape has been transformed by virtual assets and tokenization technologies that are reshaping how value gets created, exchanged, and distributed. Payment systems now function as critical networks enabling seamless, real-time transactions in an increasingly digital economy, which means vulnerabilities carry higher stakes than ever before.
The deputy governor specifically called out the dominance of certain digital platforms, cybersecurity threats, and online fraud as formidable risks that could erode Ghana’s considerable progress if left unchecked. His message was clear: the collective resolve spanning regulators, innovators, and industry stakeholders must prove stronger than the challenges confronting them.
To address these concerns, the Bank of Ghana is promoting several forward-looking initiatives. Open banking frameworks would lower entry barriers and increase competition. Public digital infrastructure could reduce costs and improve access. Electronic Know Your Customer systems and trusted digital identity frameworks would facilitate broader financial inclusion while enabling non-bank entities to participate more effectively in the payments ecosystem.
These aren’t just buzzwords; they represent concrete shifts in how Ghana’s payment infrastructure will operate. Open banking, for instance, allows third-party providers to access bank data with customer consent, enabling new services and putting competitive pressure on traditional banks. Digital identity systems solve one of financial inclusion’s biggest problems by giving people without traditional documentation a verifiable identity that banks and fintech companies can trust.
The transition to the new strategy represents more than continuity, according to Mumuni. It’s an opportunity to reimagine Ghana’s payment systems for the next phase of the country’s digital economy, one that’s more resilient, inclusive, and globally competitive. That ambition reflects both confidence in what’s been achieved and recognition that standing still means falling behind in a sector evolving as rapidly as digital finance.
Ghana’s progress in digital payments has been substantial. In 2023, the Ghana Interbank Settlement system saw transaction values increase by 49 percent, reaching GH¢3,443.98 billion. The country received the 2023 Financial Inclusion Institutional Leadership Award at the AFI Global Policy Forum, recognizing its continued advancements in expanding financial access.
But those achievements happened under the 2019 to 2024 strategy framework. That plan leveraged opportunities provided by digital technologies to promote competition, efficiency, innovation, and financial inclusion within the payment ecosystem. The new strategy must account for changes that weren’t even on the radar five years ago, from the proliferation of virtual assets to sophisticated fraud techniques exploiting digital payment channels.
The workshop format emphasizes collaboration rather than top-down directives. By bringing diverse stakeholders together for open dialogue and evidence-based reflection, the Bank of Ghana aims to ensure the strategy reflects real-world operational challenges and opportunities rather than theoretical frameworks disconnected from market realities.
Mumuni encouraged participants to engage with candor, challenge assumptions constructively, and propose forward-looking ideas supporting shared ideals of inclusion, stability, trust, and resilience. That invitation matters because effective payment system regulation requires understanding how different participants experience the ecosystem, from major banks processing billions in transactions to small fintech startups trying to navigate compliance requirements.
The insights and recommendations emerging from this stakeholder engagement will refine the priorities embedded in the new strategy. Given how rapidly the payments environment evolves, building flexibility into the framework becomes as important as setting specific objectives. What works in 2025 may need adjustment by 2027 as new technologies emerge and consumer behaviors shift.
Ghana’s payment ecosystem now supports everyday transactions for millions of citizens who’ve embraced mobile money, digital banking, and other electronic payment methods. That widespread adoption creates both opportunity and vulnerability. More people participating means more economic activity and financial inclusion, but it also means more potential victims if systems fail or fraudsters exploit weaknesses.
The Bank of Ghana’s decision to lead this strategic planning process through inclusive stakeholder engagement rather than regulatory decree suggests confidence that collaboration will produce better outcomes than mandates. Whether that approach succeeds depends on how effectively diverse interests can align around common objectives while addressing legitimate competitive concerns.
The coming months will reveal how the draft strategy evolves through stakeholder input and committee review. If Ghana successfully balances innovation with security, inclusion with stability, and domestic priorities with global competitiveness, the 2025 to 2029 strategy could cement the country’s position as Africa’s digital payments leader. If the strategy fails to adequately address emerging risks or creates regulatory barriers that stifle innovation, Ghana risks losing ground to regional competitors equally committed to digital finance transformation.
For now, the workshop represents an important first step in a process that will shape how millions of Ghanaians interact with money over the next five years.
