BoG Governor: Ghana’s mobile money transactions exceed GH¢519bn in August

Mobile money platforms in Ghana processed more than one billion transactions valued at approximately GH¢519 billion in August 2026, highlighting the country’s growing adoption of digital financial services.

Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama, disclosed the figures on Monday, November 2, while addressing the Africa Virtual Assets Summit 2026 at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City in Accra.

He said Ghana’s experience with mobile money demonstrated the country’s ability to adopt financial technology on a large scale, adding that virtual assets and tokenisation could shape the next phase of its financial development.

“Ghana has already shown that it can adopt financial technology at scale: in August 2026 alone, mobile money platforms processed over one billion transactions worth approximately GH¢519 billion,” he said.

Dr. Asiama said the next stage of digital financial development should focus on making financial services more accessible and affordable while protecting the stability and confidence of the financial system.

He identified virtual assets and tokenisation as potential tools for addressing longstanding challenges, including high transaction costs, limited access to capital and barriers to cross-border payments.

According to him, digital asset infrastructure could make diaspora remittances faster and cheaper, while improving payment and settlement systems for trade across Africa.

He also said tokenisation could enable smaller businesses to raise capital by allowing ownership rights in assets such as securities, commodities and trade receivables to be represented digitally.

However, the Governor cautioned that technological innovation must not compromise financial stability or public confidence.

He particularly highlighted the potential implications of foreign-currency-denominated stablecoins for monetary sovereignty, currency substitution, capital flows and the effectiveness of monetary policy.

“Trust is not the opposite of innovation; it is what allows innovation to grow, and it is earned through the way innovation is governed and operated,” he said.

Ghana is developing its regulatory framework for the emerging sector following the passage of the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 (Act 1154).

The Bank of Ghana is also working on a Stablecoin Directive in collaboration with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Intelligence Centre to establish regulatory requirements and supervisory arrangements.

Dr. Asiama said the country’s broader ambition was to build a financial system that benefits ordinary citizens, businesses and technology innovators.

“Our ambition is a financial system that is more inclusive, more efficient and more resilient: one in which a trader in Kumasi, a cocoa farmer and a young developer in Accra can all benefit from faster, cheaper and safer financial services,” he stated.

He added that Ghana’s objective should go beyond creating a digital asset market to establishing an ecosystem that is safe, inclusive and innovative.