The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has mentioned that it is working closely with agencies such as the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) to combat the increasing prevalence of illegal lending apps in the country. The collaboration focuses on intelligence sharing and coordinated enforcement to build a strong regulatory framework against the rising threat.
According to the BoG’s 2024 Payment Systems Oversight annual report, the Bank carried out a surveillance exercise across four regions to evaluate the impact of its new merchant account categorisation guidelines. The assessment reviewed how merchants were adopting mobile money and other digital payment platforms.
The findings revealed broad acceptance of mobile money and electronic payments. Large and some medium-scale businesses were already using merchant wallets, while smaller enterprises—though not equipped with merchant wallets—indicated readiness to accept mobile money payments through personal accounts. This demonstrated a steady rise in digital payment adoption nationwide.
The report also noted that the Bank investigated unlicensed Payment Service Providers (PSPs) and unauthorised products or partnerships initiated by licensed PSPs. Penalties, including fines and cease-and-desist orders, were issued to enforce compliance. In total, five licensed PSPs were fined in 2024.
Furthermore, the BoG continued its partnership with Google—an effort started in 2023—to ensure that only approved lending applications remain available on the Google Play Store.
Source: 3news
