Crypto regulation in Ghana
The Governor of the Bank of Ghana stated that the necessary regulations to support the use of cryptocurrencies do not currently exist in Ghana. However, the Bank of Ghana has drafted a Payment Systems and Services Bill (Ghanaian Bill), which it believes will enable the regulation of cryptocurrency in Ghana in the future. After a preliminary review of the Ghanaian Bill, there seems to be no reference to cryptocurrency, blockchain or digital currency, however cryptocurrencies will apparently be regulated through companies registered with the government as “Electronic Money Issuers.” The Bank of Ghana has discouraged the use of cryptocurrency until the promulgation of the Ghanaian Bill.
Source: Baker Mckenzie
There is no cryptocurrency legislation or regulation in Ghana. However, Ghana’s central bank – the Bank of Ghana (BoG) – has issued several notices to the general public stating that cryptocurrencies are not recognised as legal tender and that people who trade in these currencies do so at their own risk. In the most recent notice (NOTICE NO BG/GOV/SEC/2022/03), the BoG reiterated that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are not regulated under any laws in Ghana, and are therefore not backed by any guarantees or safeguards.
Source: IFLR
In January 2018, the Bank of Ghana issued a brief notice to banks and the general public advising against the use of “virtual or digital currencies, also known as cryptocurrencies,” mainly because such currencies and the entities that facilitate their transactions are not sanctioned by the government.
Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the country’s financial regulator, is exploring regulating cryptocurrencies and security tokens. While digital currencies are not currently legal tender within the country, the SEC is considering licensing platforms so that they could be used to transact business.
Source: GovChain
The Bank of Ghana is currently investing a lot of resources to further enhance the payments and settlements system, including digital forms of money and also to introduce cyber security guidelines to safeguard electronic and online financial transactions. A revised Payments System Act referred to as Payment Systems and Services Bill will be considered by Parliament within the next couple of months. This revision should bring the electronic payments space up to date to international standards and aligned with the evolving electronic payments landscape. While the Bank of Ghana acknowledges the enormous potential in the blockchain technology and how that can significantly transform the payments system landscape and promote financial inclusion, we are assessing with stakeholders and other international partners how the subsequent use of the blockchain technology into digital currencies would fit into the global financial and payments architecture.
Source: Bank Of Ghana
On 17th November 2021, the Minister for Finance announced during the presentation of the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Government to the Parliament of Ghana, the introduction of an “Electronic Transaction Levy” or “E-Levy” of 1.75 percent on electronic transactions above GHs 100 (US$16) per day to take effect from 1st February 2022. The levy will be applied to mobile money payments, bank transfers, merchant payments, and inward remittances (MoF 2022 Budget Highlights). In March 2022, Ghana’s Parliament approved the bill with 1.50 percent taxation on electronic money transfers.
Source: UN CDF
The Bank of Ghana is currently investing a lot of resources to further enhance the payments and settlements system, including digital forms of money and also to introduce cyber security guidelines to safeguard electronic and online financial transactions. A revised Payments System Act referred to as Payment Systems and Services Bill will be considered by Parliament within the next couple of months. This revision should bring the electronic payments space up to date to international standards and aligned with the evolving electronic payments landscape. While the Bank of Ghana acknowledges the enormous potential in the blockchain technology and how that can significantly transform the payments system landscape and promote financial inclusion, we are assessing with stakeholders and other international partners how the subsequent use of the blockchain technology into digital currencies would fit into the global financial and payments architecture.
Source: Bank Of Ghana
The Bank of Ghana has taken notice of recent developments in the use, holding, and trading of virtual or digital currencies (also known as cryptocurrencies), such as Bitcoin in Ghana. The Bank of Ghana wishes to notify the general public that these activities in digital currency are currently not licensed under the Payments System Act 2003 (Act 662). The Bank of Ghana is currently investing a lot of resources to further enhance the payments and settlements system, including digital forms of money and also to introduce cyber security guidelines to safeguard electronic and online financial transactions. A revised Payments System Act referred to as Payment Systems and Services Bill will be considered by Parliament within the next couple of months. This revision should bring the electronic payments space up to date to international standards and aligned with the evolving electronic payments landscape. While the Bank of Ghana acknowledges the enormous potential in the blockchain technology and how that can significantly transform the payments system landscape and promote financial inclusion, we are assessing with stakeholders and other international partners how the subsequent use of the blockchain technology into digital currencies would fit into the global financial and payments architecture.
Source: Bank Of Ghana
In a related development, the BoG established a FinTech and Innovation Office to drive the bank’s cash-lite, e-payments, and digitalisation agenda. The office also develops policies to promote innovation in the banking sector and FinTech interoperability. The office has launched a regulatory and innovation sandbox pilot under which one of the categories it would give preference to is products and services leveraging blockchain technology. This is in line with its commitment to evolve an enabling and inclusive regulatory environment that promotes FinTechs and supports innovation.
Source: IFLR
Around 110,000 Ghanian investors lost a total of $25.71 million to crypto investment scams and hacks in 2018, the lawmakers noted.
Ama Pomaa Boateng, the member of parliament for Ghana’s Juaben town, initiated a dialogue against the crypto-led investment epidemic. The 43-year old public representative, while addressing the Ghana parliament, stressed on the need for sound crypto regulation, citing the 2018’s notorious Global Coin Community Scam that swindled 109,259 Ghanaians to the tune of GHC134m. The Scammers promised victims a monthly return of 27-percent for a year but later ran away with their crypto-based capital investments.
Source: News BTC
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also warned against the use of cryptocurrencies in Ghana, in a notice (SEC/PN/003/03/2019) in March 2019. In that communiqué, the SEC was emphatic as regards the non-recognition of cryptocurrency as currency or legal tender in Ghana, and asserted that it does not regulate these types of product offerings and their accompanying online trading platforms or exchanges.
As part of the measures to address these security concerns, Ghana passed legislation such as the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044) and the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2008 (Act 762). Both pieces of legislation have provisions that regulate the inflow and outflow of currency into and out of the country. For example, Section 45 of Act 762 specifically proscribes transactions related to money laundering, tax evasion, financing terrorism, and financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by accountable institutions. Section 7 of Act 1044 further makes it an offence for any person to directly or indirectly provide or make available a financial or other related service with the intention that the financial or other related service be used to commit, or facilitate the commission of, a terrorist act, or to benefit a person who is committing, or facilitating the commission of, a terrorist act.
Source: IFLR
The Bank of Ghana (BoG), the country’s central bank, recently launched a regulatory sandbox – a mechanism for testing business models not covered by existing regulations, in partnership with the US-based financial technology (fintech) firm Emtech Solutions. Following a successful pilot phase, BoG adopted Emtech’s digital regulatory review and reporting platform, through which financial service providers can apply to deploy a given service. The central bank also will use the platform to assess and mitigate risks posed by the new services as they enter the market.
The goal of the program is “harnessing the potential of technology to develop an efficient and inclusive financial service industry without risking financial stability.” In particular, BoG anticipates innovation in artificial intelligence, data analytics and machine learning to improve various tasks, such as credit scoring, know-your-customer (KYC) procedures and fighting money laundering. Both licensed and unlicensed financial services providers are invited to make use of the regulatory sandbox.
Source: Micro Capital
