Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama has welcomed the removal of the obnoxious electronic transfer levy (e-levy), saying that it sets the tone for the kind of fintech innovation that will drive real financial inclusion through affordability.
The governor was speaking at his maiden post-Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) press conference since his appointment to the top job at the central bank.
During the 2025 budget reading earlier this month, the Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson announced that e-levy has been abolished. Just days ago, Parliament approved the abolishment of the e-levy.
In response to a question about the e-levy abolishment, Dr. Asiama state “yes it is welcome news – I believe the minister has worked the math so that the removal of e-levy turns out on net terms to be a beneficial move.”
Dr. Asiama said anything that goes to promote innovation, such as the removal of e-levy, is welcome news, adding that the central bank has received requests for digital banking licenses to build standalone digital banks not based on brick and mortar, but with just one office in just one part of the country they can offer services nationwide without having to go through the traditional banks.
Currently, by regulation, all payment service providers (PSPs) and mobile money operators in Ghana, have partner banks with whom they lodge the actual cash that floats on their digital platforms.
But the governor said BoG is currently working on the regulatory framework to enable the creation of standalone digital banks, adding that “when we finish work on the regulatory framework, in the future we will see some of the banks emerging.”
He said such standalone digital banks are innovations that allow Ghanaians to seamlessly bank on their mobile phones and that is the next step in the development of Ghana’s banking sector.
Dr. Asiama said the BoG is excited about the future of banking innovations that will flow from the removal of the e-levy and they really look forward to its impact going forward.
MPR raised to 28% by majority decision
Meanwhile, the MPC raised its monetary policy rate by 100 basis points to 27% to 28%, after three consecutive meetings with no changes.
The governor said unlike in all previous decisions on the MPR, which were by unanimous decision, this one was by majority decision, saying that soon the committee will put out the voting pattern as part of the measures to make its work more transparent.
He said the decision to increase the MPR was driven by concerns about the inflation outlook.
Dr. Asiama explained further that, even though headline inflation has declined marginally, both food and non-food inflation are significantly above expectation, and core inflation remains elevated.
The governor announced three key measures for liquidity management to enhance the impact of the of the MPR in the economy.
The three measures were:
- Introduction of a 273-day instrument to augment the central bank’s existing sterilization toolkit.
- Intensified monitoring of banks’ Net Open Positions (NOPs) to ensure strict compliance with regulatory requirements.
- Review of the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) structure to assess its broader impact on liquidity conditions and financial intermediation.
Meanwhile, the governor said the central bank is monitoring a number of inadequately capitalized banks in the country, saying that since they are local banks, which were affected by the 2022 Domestic Debt Exchange Program (DDEP) under the previous government, the approach would be to support them, while securing the overall stability of the sector.
