Sirlibz
Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari, the Bank of Ghana’s first deputy governor has confirmed that they are still interested in issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in Ghana. He made this confirmation at the Virtual stakeholders workshop meeting on payment systems and services, where he stated that despite the several policies that have been put in place to promote e-cash transactions, the Bank is still committed and interested in promoting innovations such as a Central Bank Digital currency (CBDC).
The Central Bank of Ghana had previously established a Fintech and Innovation office to supervise and promote development within the country of Ghana, the Bank has had to adapt it’s standards and structure where the need arises in the payment sector.
The central Bank has always had an eye on the Digital payment system. Earlier before 2019, the payments sector was managed from a unit within the banks banking department, as the mobile money sector began to grow and expand, the need for a payment department arose. This led to the subsequent establishment of the Payment Systems Department in 2016, this department was to ensure an effective payment system amongst other things.
In 2019, the Bank of Ghana authorized Ghana Commercial Bank to issue out e-money and also announced it’s interest in developing a CBDC.
Ernest Addison, the governor of Bank of Ghana stated that the CBDC development would be followed up in a sandbox and with the possibility of issuing an e-cedis in the near future.
Speaking on how far Bank of Ghana (BoG) has worked to date, Opoku-Afari said “ Bank of Ghana has consistently demonstrated leadership and foresight in creating the enabling environment for competitive, innovative and inclusive development of the financial sector.
