Bank of Ghana Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison, has made a callout to stakeholders in the financial technology scene to partner up with the Bank of Ghana to accelerate economic growth. This partnership will further foster the fintech industry to enable it leverage on the new economy springing from digital technology solutions.
According to Addison, active mobile money accounts in Ghana have seen a rise to 19million from 14.4million in 2020. Mobile money services are driving the growth of the digital financial services industry. He further highlighted that mobile money transactions have grown in volume by 365% and also grown in value by 651% between 2019 and 2020.
“Collectively, therefore, we, as stakeholders, must leverage on these positive headwinds to develop and implement digital strategies to spur growth in the digital financial services sector,” Addison said during the 2021 Annual Bankers Week Dinner of the Chartered Institute of Bankers.
The dinner which was held on Saturday, December 11, was in honour of the Bank of Ghana Governor; and saw attendance from the two Bank of Ghana deputies, Dr Maxwell Opoku-Afari and Mrs Elsie Addo Awadzi, as well as other members of the banking industry.
Furthermore, Addison expressed that a new economy rooted in digital technology is emerging globally. He said, “From agriculture, through industry, to commerce, to name just a few, no sector has been spared the transformational power of technology.”
He made emphasis on the fact that Ghana is aligned with the trends, citing examples of the growth in online transactions of businesses within the country.
Rev. Patricia Sappor, President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, also speaking at the event, observed that the banking industry maintained operations despite the impact of the Covid pandemic. She said, “By the grace and mercies of God, we have been able to move on and made even bigger strides by being strong, solvent and profitable, as revealed by the KPMG Banking Sector Development Report for July 2021.”
