BoG refutes claims of withheld $8bn by MTOs and Fintechs

The Bank of Ghana has dismissed media reports claiming that $8 billion has been withheld by newly licensed Money Transfer Operators (MTOs) and 11 Fintech companies in the last two years.

Media reports indicated that approximately $12 billion in remittances to Ghana went untracked and unaccounted for by the Bank of Ghana and the Auditor General from 2018 to 2022.

According to these reports, data discrepancies exist between the World Bank and the Bank of Ghana regarding remittance inflows. The World Bank tracked a total of $21.1 billion in remittances to Ghana from 2018 to 2022, while the Auditor General’s reports on the Bank of Ghana’s consolidated statements of foreign exchange receipts and payments accounted for only $9.5 billion, leaving a gap of about $11.6 billion.

The reports added that the Bank of Ghana’s 2023 annual financial statement reveals that 11 licensed FinTech companies provided inward remittance services, with remittances totaling GH¢57 billion (US$5 billion) in 2023, up from GH¢18 billion (US$3 billion) in 2022.

In response, the Central Bank stated that Ghana has seen a consistent increase in remittance inflows year-on-year, as confirmed by data from both the Bank of Ghana and the World Bank.

“The Bank of Ghana does not license MTOs since such companies are based abroad. The Bank, however, conducts due diligence on MTOs who partner local banks and/or FinTechs to deliver remittances into Ghana as part of the authorisation process.

“Furthermore, all remittance inflows are credited to the nostro account of partner banks of Payment Service Providers (PSPs), as such, no PSP holds any forex inflows from inward remittances. The partner bank credits the local cedi accounts of PSPs for onward transfer to beneficiaries.”

“Based on the above, the assertion that the country has lost US$8 Billion in the last two years (i.e, US$ 5 Billion in 2022 and US$3 Billion in 2023) based on FinTechs and MTOs withholding same at the expense of the country’s foreign currency reserves is misleading and not grounded on facts.

The Bank of Ghana additionally dismissed claims that Ghana operates two foreign exchange systems.

“Ghana does not operate two foreign exchange systems. Both banks and FinTechs who engage in inward remittance services do regularly submit prudential returns to the Bank of Ghana as part of their regulatory obligations.

“Banks and FinTechs have the responsibility of complying with the Foreign Exchange Act, 2006 (Act 723) and other legal and regulatory requirements.”