In the first four months of 2021, the usage of mobile money in non-cash retail payments overtook the traditional cheque transactions in the country. A Bank of Ghana (BoG) report on payment systems showed that while the volume of transactions on mobile money was GH¢301.1 billion, that of cheque transactions was GH¢68.3 billion between January and April this year. The Chartered...
The argument over the proposed 1.75% Electronic Transaction Levy in the 2022 Budget and Economic Policy will not go away soon, as the Institute of Economic Affairs is proposing a 0.5% for the levy. This it believes will ease the burden on consumers and avoid negative reactions from the public. The IEA claims the 1.75% levy is too high, as the...
Bank of Ghana has been awarded for outstanding leadership in the Corporate Governance landscape and regulatory excellence in the financial services sector in Ghana. The award follows the Bank’s significant role in promoting the culture of good corporate governance in Ghana and its impressive achievement in reforming the banking and financial services sector in Ghana. The Governor of the Bank...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued the first credit rating licence to an indigenous company in Ghana, which will allow for an independent evaluation of the creditworthiness of debt securities on the Ghana Fixed Income Market. This will be a boost to development of the corporate bonds market, given that corporate bond issuers must find a rating agency to rate...
The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, together with Governor Harvesh Kumar Seegolam, Governor of the Bank of Mauritius, have signed an historic Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Port Louis, to deepen the existing ties of engagement between the two central banks. The objectives of the MOU are to establish an arrangement for the exchange of...
The number of registered internet banking customers declined by 7.88%, from 1,106,270 in 2019 to 1,019,073 in 2020, the 2020 Payments Systems Oversight Annual Report has indicated. However, registered mobile banking customers increased by 12.30%, from 4,245,479 in 2019 to 4,767,719 in 2020. The report further indicated that the value of internet banking transactions increased significantly by 101.50% to ¢24.21...
The increase in Policy Rate by the Bank of Ghana will have a mixed impact on the Ghanaian economy, Economist, Dr. Adu Owusu Sarkodie has told Joy Business. According to him, whilst rising inflation and recent exchange rate pressures will be tamed, the expected rate of economic growth will reduce. The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana yesterday adjusted...
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Kenneth Ashigbey, has asked government to increase the electronic transaction levy’s exemption threshold to ¢200 per day. He said that will enable many micro and small companies that use mobile money to continue using the service. “From the way they want to implement it [the e-levy], it is going to...
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has tasked the banking community to be proactive in developing specific digital products for different types of customers with the introduction of the e-cedi. Speaking at the 25th National Banking Conference under the theme, “The Digital Economy of Ghana, the Strategic Role of the Banking Industry” Dr. Bawumia said, the launch of Ghana’s universal QR...
Economic activity shot up in the third quarter of 2021 as the Bank of Ghana’s updated Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA) recorded an annual growth of 11.2% in September 2021, compared with 10.8% and 4.2% in the corresponding periods of 2020 and 2019, respectively. According to the Monetary Policy Committee report, economic activity during the third quarter continues to...
