Plans far advanced to roll out Ghana’s first digital currency – Deputy BoG Governor

Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Mrs. Elsie Addo Awadzi has disclosed that plans are far advanced to roll out a digital currency for the country.

This comes after the Governor of the central bank, Dr. Ernest Addison in June this year revealed the decision which will be piloted in three phases was hinged on advancing financial inclusion and facilitating trade towards a cash-lite economy.

Addressing journalists at a press briefing organised by the Ministry of Finance, the second deputy BoG governor assured of the central bank’s resolve in ensuring the viability of the e-Cedi.

“We announced through our Governor the fact that we were exploring the launch of a central bank digital currency. Many central banks around the world have launched this. And we have launched a pilot to see whether we can have a digital currency. We believe that that holds a lot of promise for a cashless society going forward.”

“It’s still very early days yet. There’s a lot of work being done currently to study the area and see the feasibility of it for Ghana. And at the appropriate time, we’ll be able to announce what our findings are,” Elsie Addo Awadzi said.

She further cautioned the general public to desist from engaging in cryptocurrency trading which was currently not regulated by the central bank.

“We have issued a public statement to the effect that we do not currently have a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency, and so we have warned the public. It’s an emerging area. We are still trying to understand the risk. We will in due course make our policy statement known,” the second deputy governor said.

“Crypto assets and others is a big concern from an AMLCFT standpoint around the world, and that is why we are being careful and warning the public to be careful. And that’s an area that we’ll continue to monitor very carefully,” Elsie Addo Awadzi concluded.