The Bank of Ghana has urged African regulators, banks, fintech firms and payment system operators to coordinate more effectively to accelerate interoperable instant payment systems across the continent.
Speaking at the 3i Africa Summit 2026, First Deputy Governor Dr. Zakari Mumuni said inclusive instant payment systems must be treated as critical economic infrastructure rather than optional technology upgrades. He described the continent as standing at a decisive moment in its digital finance journey.
Dr. Mumuni acknowledged that mobile money, digital wallets and fintech innovation have significantly expanded financial access over the past two decades. He warned, however, that high transaction costs, siloed platforms and weak interoperability continue to restrict the efficient movement of money across systems and borders, slowing the development of a fully connected digital economy.
He argued that properly designed instant payment systems could enable real time, low cost transactions across banks, fintech platforms and consumer accounts while improving liquidity management, business cash cycles and overall productivity. Governments, he added, stand to benefit through stronger revenue mobilisation, improved transparency and more efficient delivery of public interventions.
Ghana has made notable progress on this front, expanding mobile money interoperability and introducing multiple instant payment platforms through reforms led by the central bank and Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems. Even so, Dr. Mumuni was direct in his assessment: infrastructure deployment alone will not guarantee inclusion.
“The task before us is not invention but scale,” he said, calling for national payment systems to be connected, standards harmonised and value enabled to move freely across borders.
He outlined the next phase of reform as requiring harmonised electronic know your customer (eKYC) frameworks, aligned licensing regimes and stronger cross border cooperation between jurisdictions. He stressed that central banks cannot deliver integration without active collaboration from financial institutions, fintech firms and payment service providers.
Dr. Mumuni also sounded a clear caution. Rapid digital financial expansion, he warned, risks exposing African markets to cybersecurity threats, data misuse, irresponsible lending and excessive market concentration. Regulators would need to balance innovation with financial stability and consumer protection.
His remarks reflect a broader shift among African central banks toward digital public infrastructure and regional payment connectivity, as governments seek to deepen financial inclusion and support intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework. He closed by making clear that the measure of success will not be the quality of summit discussions but the actions that follow them.
