The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has issued its first dedicated Electronic Money Issuer Licence to a local financial technology company, Zeepay Ghana Limited.
This, according to the BoG was in line with the Payment Systems and Services Act, 2019 (Act 987) efforts to deepen financial inclusion in the country.
The BoG in a news statement issued in Accra on Thursday and signed by the Secretary, Ms Sandra Thompson said the license authorised Zeepay Ghana Limited to “operate as a dedicated electronic money issuer”.
Zeepay Ghana Limited per the licence can provide services such as cash in, cash out, peer to peer transfer, bill payments, airtime top-up and international money transfer.
“The BoG wishes to reiterate its commitment to providing an enabling environment for Fintechs, industry players and other stakeholders, to operate in the payment services space in Ghana,” the statements said.
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) on August 29, 2019 announced plans to issue licensing and authorisation requirements for Fintech companies and banks in the country.
According to the BoG, the move was to provide regulatory clarity for Fintechs and banks as well as consumers who use digitised products and services.
The Governor of the BoG, Dr Ernest Addison who disclosed this in Accra in a speech read on his behalf by his Special Advisor, Dr Benjamin Amoah, during the S & P Global and Ecobank Ghana Ratings roundtable series, said licensing and authorisation framework would “seek to reduce entry barriers and speed the time to market for productive innovations”.
H e observed that the increasing use of technology and digitisation had significantly transformed the financial services industry.
“As regulators, we seek to facilitate innovation in the industry to unleash the broader societal benefits of financial inclusiveness while ensuring that systemic risks are adequately minimised,” Dr Addison said.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE
