The Bank of Ghana will in September 2021 pilot the digital cedi currency
• The Bank of Ghana is set to roll its pilot of the e-cedi in September 2021
• Transactions on the platform can be saved and used on smart devices
• The electronic currency will also be available to a person without smartphones
The Bank of Ghana is set to commence the pilot process to roll out the country’s first digital currency known as the e-cedi.
According to Kwame Oppong, Head of Financial Technology and Innovation at the central bank, the digital currency can be deposited on smartphones, smartwatches as savings.
In an interaction with Joy Business, Oppong revealed the central bank as part of its pilot of the digital currency will also see persons without smartphones gain access to their savings.
He explained this would be done using a USSD code for non-smartphones which will also feature savings, payment and transfer options.
“I can for instance have a card – very simple card – that I can store my e-Cedi on it. Rather than carrying a large sum of cash somewhere to go and make a payment, I could have one of these cards and save the e-Cedi on it. It’s also important to mention that because it’s digital, you can save beyond cards; you can also save it on smart devices such as smartwatches, smartphones. You can save [e-Cedi] on any device that is a smart device,” Oppong explained.
He continued, “To also mention, for those who may not have access to data, but have access to our usual USSD code which is quite common in Ghana, you can still use that to spend the e-Cedi. And so, to a large extent, the e-Cedi comes to replace cash and the role that cash is playing in the system now” he pointed.
He said micro-small merchants seeking to use the digital platform will also be able to do so through a unified Quick Response (QR) system.
“Fortunately for us, we have a unified QR (Quick Response) system that allows very small merchants -micro-merchants – to be provided the ability to receive payment digitally,” Oppong noted.
The rollout of the digital currency for Ghana is expected to deepen the country’s cash lite agenda which will complement other electronic payment systems such as mobile money.