Ghana to issue digital currency in 'near future'
Ghana's central bank is considering the issue of a digital currency to complement the growth in electronic payment systems, such as mobile money.
The governor of the West African nation's central bank, Ernest Addison, said Ghana could issue a digital form of the nation's currency, the cedi, in the "near future" and is in talks to develop a pilot project in a "sandbox environment."
The Bank of Ghana governor stated that the CBDC pilot initiative is in line with the country's efforts to digitise the financial and banking sector.
The digital age provides enormous potential for the financial sector to re-orientate itself to satisfy the new consumer and business demands"
Addison said: "Digital financial technologies will continue to define the future of our banking experience," adding that the volume of mobile money transactions rose from 982 million in 2017 to 1.4 billion last year.
"This consistent growth pattern underscores the sustainable nature of opportunity for the banking sector," the governor added.
The Bank of Ghana governor also announced that the country's largest bank in terms of total operating assets - Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB Bank) - has been authorised to issue e-money.
"The digital age provides enormous potential for the financial sector to re-orientate itself to satisfy the new consumer and business demands for financial services," Addison said.
There are currently 64 blockchain and cryptocurrency firms in Africa across 11 different sub-categories, including exchanges and wallets, according to research from specialised news outlet The Block Crypto.
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