The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has called on fintech lenders to dismantle data silos and build shared borrower information systems, warning that the current fragmentation is giving serial defaulters a free pass to move across platforms undetected and keep accessing credit they have no intention of repaying.
The Head of Department at the central bank, Dr Kwasi Osei-Yeboah, issued the warning on the sidelines of the 3i Africa Summit 2026 in Accra on Thursday, describing the absence of cross-platform data sharing as one of the most consequential gaps in Ghana’s digital lending market.
His concern is straightforward: when a borrower defaults on a loan with one fintech firm, competing platforms have no way of knowing. Without a shared credit history system, that borrower can immediately apply elsewhere, repeat the cycle and leave multiple lenders nursing bad debts.
“Inability to share common data brings separation and makes it difficult to identify the history of creditors,” Dr Osei-Yeboah said.
He argued that a unified data framework would do more than protect individual lenders. Properly structured credit profiling, he said, would build reliable borrower histories over time, improving underwriting accuracy, strengthening trust across the sector and encouraging responsible borrowing behaviour. The alternative, he warned, is a market that grows in volume while quietly accumulating systemic risk beneath the surface.
Dr Osei-Yeboah called for a deliberate industry-wide response, urging fintech companies to collaborate on shared data standards that make defaulter information visible across all platforms the moment a loan goes bad. He positioned this not as a regulatory imposition but as a commercial necessity for firms serious about sustainable growth.
Beyond data, the BoG official took aim at interest rate practices in the digital lending space, warning that some fintech firms are pricing customers out of long-term relationships. He urged lenders to adopt more moderate pricing models, arguing that retaining a loyal customer base over time is more valuable than extracting maximum yield from short-term transactions.
The remarks at the summit reinforce a broader push by the central bank to bring greater structure and accountability to Ghana’s rapidly expanding fintech sector, even as it encourages innovation through open banking reforms.
