The Bank of Ghana has admonished commercial banks to shift focus from profit-making to delivering fair value and quality service to customers – a move the central bank says is critical to restoring public confidence in the financial sector.
At the opening of a Customer Reporting Officer Stakeholder Meeting in Accra, Second Deputy Governor Matilda Asante-Asiedu said that banks must strengthen internal controls and improve customer service; adding that the use of technology must enhance trust.
She stressed that the true strength of the banking system lies not only in profitability but in fairness and reliability.
“If a bank says it has 98 percent uptime, we must think about the two percent who are affected by poor service. Technology must not be a tool for vulnerability but trust. Banks must secure systems, ensure sound oversight and deliver responsive innovation.”
Her remarks follow a recent fraud report by the Bank of Ghana, which pointed out that over 16,700 fraud cases in the sector last year which was a five percent increase from 2023 with total losses exceeding GH¢100 million.
Worryingly, 33 percent of the incidents involved bank staff.
“I think it’s very important to continue find ways to improve the quality of service we deliver. I believe through that, we can serve better”, she added.
Director of Financial Stability at the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Kwasi Osei-Yeboah, assured of the regulator’s commitment to protecting customer rights through strong oversight and robust policies.
“Excellence in service is no longer a luxury but an expectation that defines the credibility of the banking sector. Security in practice is the foundation of customer confidence. Without robust protection for our data and banking transactions, all other efforts are compromise.”
“Our institutions must therefore embed security not as an afterthought but as a core principle of every product and service designed or delivered,” he said.
The stakeholder meeting, themed “Excellence in Service, Innovation in Delivery, Security in Practice,” sought to review existing customer complaint mechanisms and explore ways to improve service delivery, enhance transparency, and reduce fraud across the banking industry.