BoG pushes for unified fintech rules across Africa
By: Ernest Afram
The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson P. Asiama, has called for the adoption of a harmonized regulatory framework for fintech across Africa, as part of efforts to strengthen cross-border digital payments and drive inclusive economic growth.
Speaking at the IMF Sub-Saharan Africa Central Bank Network Seminar on CBDCs and Digital Payments held in Accra, Dr Asiama highlighted the need for regulatory coherence across jurisdictions to reduce transaction frictions, improve compliance, and enable seamless cross-border trade.
According to him, fragmented regulatory environments continue to slow down innovation in Africa’s digital finance space and create unnecessary barriers for emerging fintech companies that operate across multiple markets.
“As regulators, we must ensure policy coherence and regulatory agility go hand-in-hand. That’s why Ghana is co-leading, alongside Rwanda, the FinTech License Passporting Framework, this initiative will allow trusted digital firms to expand across borders without facing a different rulebook in every country.” He said.
The passporting framework, currently under development, is expected to create a single window of trust for fintechs operating in participating African countries. Dr Asiama said this will not only reduce regulatory burdens, but also foster innovation and investment in the digital finance sector.
He explained that this was one of two major initiatives Ghana is spearheading. The other is the Africa NextGen Digital Payment Infrastructure (DPI) — a project aimed at developing a secure, inclusive, and interoperable payments architecture tailored to the needs of African markets.
Dr Asiama emphasized that while infrastructure is essential, regulatory tools such as multi-regulator sandboxes and supervisory technologies (SupTech) are also crucial to achieving oversight in an increasingly digitized financial landscape.
“These tools allow regulators, innovators, and governments to collaborate in real-time and ensure that innovation does not outpace resilience,” he said.
The Bank of Ghana governor also urged African central banks to play a more active role in shaping global digital finance standards in areas such as anti-money laundering, data protection, and digital identity rather than having such standards imposed from outside.
He noted that as Africa moves toward a more digital economy, these reforms must always center on people.
“This is not just a technical conversation it’s a strategic one. We must remember the real lives behind our systems: the mother who relies on remittances, the entrepreneur trying to export goods, and the regulator working to protect consumers.” He said. The two-day seminar brought together central bank governors, IMF and World Bank officials, and fintech leaders to explore ways to improve remittances, compliance, and interoperability in Africa’s growing digital finance ecosystem.
