BoG orders financial institutions to cut ties with crypto platforms running illegal dollar wallets

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has directed all regulated financial institutions to immediately sever ties with cryptocurrency platforms operating unauthorised foreign currency wallets in the country, warning of severe penalties for non-compliance.

In a strongly worded directive, the central bank ordered banks, Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions, Electronic Money Issuers, Payment Service Providers, and other regulated entities to stop facilitating the funding, operation, settlement, or customer access to any unauthorised fiat currency wallet services offered to users in Ghana.

“Accordingly, banks, Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions, Electronic Money Issuers, Payment Service Providers, and other Regulated Financial Institutions are hereby directed to refrain from establishing or maintaining arrangements that facilitate the funding, operation, settlement, or customer access to unauthorised fiat currency wallet services offered to users in Ghana,” the central bank stated.

The directive targets the rapid proliferation of digital US dollar wallets that allow Ghanaian users to bypass standard banking channels. The BoG revealed it has been tracking a significant spike in such arrangements, which are typically funded and settled using bank transfers, credit cards, and mobile money networks provided by local financial institutions.

The central bank stated that these operations violate several key financial regulations, including the Payment Systems and Services Act, 2019 (Act 987) and the Foreign Exchange Act, 2006 (Act 723). It further clarified that no cryptocurrency platform has been granted legal authority to operate cross-border, parallel banking services on Ghanaian soil.

Institutions currently processing payments, acquiring card transactions, or providing settlement infrastructure for these crypto platforms have been ordered to immediately dismantle all such technical integrations. The BoG has made clear that institutions that fail to comply or delay terminating these arrangements will face swift supervisory penalties and direct enforcement action.

The directive covers the full spectrum of Ghana’s financial architecture, including commercial and specialised banks, mobile money issuers, fintechs, payment service providers, and card processing networks.

Source: 3news.com by Evans Effah