Editorial: Banks urged to be more visible in digital finance

Traditional lenders are being urged to reassert their relevance in a digital financial ecosystem increasingly dominated by telecom-led mobile money platforms and agile fintech startups.

Mobile money platforms now process over 97 percent of all digital transaction volumes and account for 72 percent of total value, according to data from the central bank’s March 2025 Summary of Economic and Financial Data.

The central bank Governor, Dr. Johnson P. Asiama, warned that banks are ceding too much ground to non-bank players in the delivery of digital financial services.

While praising Ghana’s digital rails – including the GhIPSS platform – for enabling wide access to payment infrastructure, Dr. Asiama pointed out that banks’ digital channels handle less than 1% of transaction volumes.

He said this divergence is more than just statistical; it is a structural shift that places telcos and fintechs at the centre of consumer financial behaviour, while banks risk becoming marginal players in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Consequently,  the Governor urged banks to embrace open banking frameworks, accelerate API standardisation and invest in shared infrastructure that allows customers to port their financial data across platforms with consent.

“Banks must lead, not follow,” Dr. Asiama said. “Open banking is not about giving ground to new entrants; it’s about reclaiming trust, redefining convenience and renewing relevance.”

The push toward open banking comes as banks struggle to maintain digital relevance, especially in rural and informal sectors where low-income users rely almost exclusively on mobile wallets for payments, remittances and even small unsecured loans.

The central bank is working with the Ghana Fintech and Payments Association to develop regulatory guidelines for AI use in fraud detection and credit scoring, inspired by sandbox models seen in jurisdictions such as the UK.

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