The Central Bank of Ghana is Still Interested in Developing a Virtual Currency, Says Bank Governor

The Bank of Ghana has once again stated that it is still interested in developing a virtual currency for the economy in order to promote innovation in the market and a more cashless economy.

The Bank of Ghana (BoG), which is the Central Bank of Ghana, is well known on the African continent, and globally as a leading institution in continued evolution of the payments sector and organizational structure to meet the needs of the Ghanaian economy.

SEE ALSO: Bank of Ghana Named the Central Bank of the Year 2019 for its Emphasis on Growth of Digital Payments

Speaking during a virtual stakeholder workshop on payment systems and service, the First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Maxwell Opoku-afari, said that concepts like a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) are interesting to explore and the evolving policies on branchless banking guidelines in the country offers it an opportunity to look in that direction.

The Bank of Ghana, which is the Central Bank of Ghana, has facilitated a modern and robust interbank payments systems through the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS), which includes the following systems:

• e-zwich
• GIP
• ACH
• GH-Link
• Mobile Money

The GhIPSS has helped establish interoperability between the above systems and established the foundation for a nationwide digital delivery of services.

This is not the first time that the Bank of Ghana has expressed interest in building a CBDC. In 2019, the bank said that it was considering the release of the digital version of its national currency, the e-Cedi, and had been exploring a pilot project in a sandbox environment with the possibility of issuing the e-Cedi in the near future.

The recent reiteration of the possibility of a CBDC is thus interesting and shows the ongoing efforts in this direction. This makes Ghana among a few countries in Africa, and the globe, seriously considering a CBDC for the economy.

 

 

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