By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
Ghana’s central bank, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has denied media reports claiming that GH¢57 billion has been withheld by newly licensed Money Transfer Operators (MTOs) and 11 Fintech companies.
Reports circulating in the media space indicated that approximately $12 billion in remittances to Ghana went untracked and unaccounted for by the Bank of Ghana and the Auditor General from 2018 to 2022.
The World Bank is said to have tracked a total of $21.1 billion in remittances to Ghana from 2018 to 2022, while the Auditor General’s reports on the Bank of Ghana’s consolidated statements of foreign exchange receipts and payments accounted for only $9.5 billion, leaving a gap of about $11.6 billion.
According to these reports, data discrepancies exist between the World Bank and the Bank of Ghana regarding remittance inflows.
The reports added that the Bank of Ghana’s 2023 annual financial statement reveals that 11 licensed FinTech companies provided inward remittance services, with remittances totaling GH¢57 billion (US$5 billion) in 2023, up from GH¢18 billion (US$3 billion) in 2022.
The Central Bank in a press release issued today, 25 June 25, 2024, in response to the claims admitted that Ghana has seen a consistent increase in remittance inflows year-on-year, as confirmed by data from both the BoG and the World Bank.
“The Bank of Ghana does not license MTOs since such companies are based abroad. The Bank, however, conducts due diligence on MTOs who partner with local banks and/or FinTechs to deliver remittances into Ghana as part of the authorisation process.
Furthermore, all remittance inflows are credited to the nostro account of partner banks of Payment Service Providers (PSPs), as such, no PSP holds any forex inflows from inward remittances. The partner bank credits the local cedi accounts of PSPs for onward transfer to beneficiaries.” Portions of the release read.
The BoG again dismissed claims that Ghana operates two foreign exchange systems.
“Ghana does not operate two foreign exchange systems. Both banks and FinTechs who engage in inward remittance services regularly submit prudential returns to the Bank of Ghana as part of their regulatory obligations.
Banks and FinTechs have the responsibility of complying with the Foreign Exchange Act, 2006 (Act 723) and other legal and regulatory requirements.” It added.
