The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama, has set out the central bank’s forward-looking regulatory agenda for Ghana’s fintech sector, calling for innovation that is matched by governance, resilience and consumer trust.
Delivering the keynote address at a Breakfast Meeting with Licensed Financial Technology Institutions in Accra, Dr. Asiama said Ghana’s digital financial ecosystem was the result of deliberate policy choices and collaboration between innovators and regulators.
“Ghana’s digital finance success did not emerge by accident. It was built intentionally by entrepreneurs willing to challenge convention and by a regulator determined to ensure that innovation serves the public good,” the Governor stated.
Dr. Asiama noted that over the past decade, Ghana has become a continental reference point for digital payments and financial innovation, with mobile money now a daily utility and interoperable instant payments already operational.
He observed that fintechs are delivering services to millions who were previously financially excluded, but warned that increased scale comes with consequences.
According to the Governor, the Bank of Ghana’s regulatory posture is anchored on three realities: unregulated scale creates systemic risk; innovation without consumer protection undermines inclusion; and speed without safeguards weakens confidence in the financial system.
Dr. Asiama highlighted the passage of the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 (Act 1154), describing it as a move to bring clarity, accountability and transparency to emerging digital asset activities.
He also pointed to the Directive for Digital Credit Services Providers, which seeks to address the rapid growth of digital and app-based lending while ensuring fairness and sustainability.
In addition, the Governor announced the implementation of the revised Cyber and Information Security Directive (CISD), 2026, alongside the onboarding of fintechs onto the Financial Industry Command Security Operations Centre (FICSOC) to strengthen sector-wide cyber resilience.
Following the Governor’s address, the First Deputy Governor Zakaria Mumuni echoed the central bank’s commitment to innovation, while stressing that the next phase of Ghana’s digital finance journey must prioritise trust and economic value.
He noted that while access to digital financial services had expanded rapidly, many users were yet to fully benefit from credit, savings, insurance and other value-adding products.
“The next chapter of digital finance must be about depth, not just reach. Innovation must translate into real financial security and economic opportunity for households and businesses,” the Deputy Governor said.
He added that consumer confidence remains the foundation of any sustainable digital financial system, urging fintech operators to treat trust as a long-term strategic asset.
Supporting the Governor’s remarks on cyber security, the Deputy Governor emphasised that cyber risks are now systemic rather than institutional.
“Cyber threats do not respect organisational boundaries. Our collective defence depends on cooperation, shared intelligence and coordinated response,” he noted, urging fintechs to actively engage with the Bank’s cyber security initiatives.
Reiterating the Governor’s outlook on emerging priorities, the Deputy Governor described open banking as a critical next step in empowering consumers and enabling fintechs to develop new, data-driven services through secure, consent-based data sharing.
On cross-border expansion, he welcomed progress under the Licence Passporting Framework with Rwanda, noting that Ghanaian fintechs were beginning to leverage the framework to scale operations into East Africa.
He also supported efforts to mobilise diaspora investment using fintech, blockchain and tokenisation to reduce remittance costs and improve transaction transparency.
In closing, the Deputy Governor affirmed the Governor’s call for fintechs to engage regulators early, invest in governance structures and view regulation as an enabler of long-term scale.
By: Christian Akorlie / businesspostonline
