BoG tests digital payment systems across Ghana, Rwanda and Nigeria

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) is testing cross-border payment systems using central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), stablecoins, bank accounts and mobile wallets to make transactions between African countries more efficient.

The initiative covers the Ghana-Rwanda and Ghana-Nigeria corridors. The Bank has also extended the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to mobile wallets along the Ghana-Nigeria corridor.

Speaking at a high-level event on digital innovation in payments on the sidelines of the 2026 IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama on October 13, 2026, said the goal was to move the pilot projects into full operation by building on existing infrastructure rather than creating new systems.

“Our objective is to move these pilots to live services, building on existing infrastructure such as PAPSS rather than creating new systems,” he said.

Dr Asiama said the Bank was also working to ensure that increased access to financial services translated into meaningful financial inclusion and improved financial health.

According to him, 81% of adults in Ghana have access to financial services, but only 52.7% are financially included when actual usage and service quality are considered.

He added that private sector credit remained at about 10% of gross domestic product (GDP), highlighting the need for digital financial services to support savings, credit, insurance and investment.

Dr Asiama said the Bank’s Digital Credit Service Provider framework was bringing digital lenders under supervision, while efforts to improve visibility into borrowers’ total debts were aimed at preventing over-indebtedness.

Open banking, which is moving from the proof-of-concept stage to a pilot, is also expected to give customers greater control over their financial data and promote competition.

Touching on digital payment security, Dr Asiama said reported fraud cases in Ghana rose by 48% in 2025, although the total value at risk remained broadly unchanged.

He said the trend suggested that fraud was increasingly taking the form of numerous smaller incidents affecting ordinary users.

The Bank’s response includes consumer education, payee confirmation and stronger controls on SIM replacement.

He added that the revised Cyber and Information Security Directive, the expansion of the Financial Industry Command Security Operations Centre (FICSOC) beyond universal banks, and forthcoming guidance on the safe use of artificial intelligence, including agentic AI, were intended to strengthen security across the financial system.

Story by Mawuli Ahorlumegah, reporting from the 2026 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in Thailand, Bangkok