The Bank of Ghana has denied allegations in the media that 11 Fintech companies and newly licensed Money Transfer Operators (MTOs) have withheld $8 billion in the past two years.
According to media claims, the Bank of Ghana and the Auditor General failed to track and account for remittances of about $12 billion to Ghana between 2018 and 2022.
These reports alleged that there are statistical inconsistencies over remittance outflows between the Bank of Ghana and the World Bank. The Auditor General’s reports on the Bank of Ghana’s consolidated statements of foreign exchange receipts and payments accounted for just $9.5 billion, leaving a shortfall of around $11.6 billion. The World Bank monitored a total of $21.1 billion in remittances to Ghana from 2018 to 2022.
Remittances to foreign countries totaled GH¢57 billion (US$5 billion) in 2023, up from GH¢18 billion (US$3 billion) in 2022, according to sources citing the Bank of Ghana’s 2023 annual financial statement, which shows that 11 FinTech companies with licenses offered inward remittance services.
The Central Bank responded by saying that data from the Bank of Ghana and the World Bank supported the country’s continuous annual growth in remittance inflows.
“The Bank of Ghana does not license MTOs since such companies are based abroad. The Bank, however, conducts due diligence on MTOs who partner local banks and/or FinTechs to deliver remittances into Ghana as part of the authorisation process.
“Furthermore, all remittance inflows are credited to the nostro account of partner banks of Payment Service Providers (PSPs), as such, no PSP holds any forex inflows from inward remittances. The partner bank credits the local cedi accounts of PSPs for onward transfer to beneficiaries.”
“Based on the above, the assertion that the country has lost US$8 Billion in the last two years (i.e, US$ 5 Billion in 2022 and US$3 Billion in 2023) based on FinTechs and MTOs withholding same at the expense of the country’s foreign currency reserves is misleading and not grounded on facts.
The Bank of Ghana also refuted allegations that Ghana operates two foreign exchange systems.
“Ghana does not operate two foreign exchange systems. Both banks and FinTechs who engage in inward remittance services do regularly submit prudential returns to the Bank of Ghana as part of their regulatory obligations.
“Banks and FinTechs have the responsibility of complying with the Foreign Exchange Act, 2006 (Act 723) and other legal and regulatory requirements.”
Source: Kasapafmonline.com
