Ghana’s Banks Seek Common Platform to Track Stolen Funds

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The proposal comes amid concerns over the banking sector’s ability to recover money lost to fraud, with the recovery rate estimated at only about 5 percent in 2025. The low figure has heightened the urgency for banks, financial technology companies, payment service providers and telecommunications operators to strengthen cooperation against increasingly coordinated fraud networks.

Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Association of Banks, John Awuah, believes closer collaboration among financial institutions and other players in the digital payments ecosystem could improve the chances of recovering stolen funds and restore confidence in electronic financial services.

Speaking on the sidelines of GCB Bank’s “Inside the Scammers’ Playbook” fraud awareness event, Mr. Awuah stressed that the industry must move beyond isolated responses and develop a coordinated approach that makes it harder for fraudsters to exploit weaknesses across financial platforms.

The estimated 5 percent recovery rate in 2025 highlights a significant challenge for Ghana’s financial services industry, particularly as digital payments become increasingly important to everyday transactions.

While banks and other financial institutions continue to invest in security systems and fraud prevention measures, the ability to recover money after a successful attack remains a critical concern.

Customers who fall victim to scams may face difficulties retrieving their funds, especially when transactions move rapidly across different institutions and payment channels. Delays in sharing information can further complicate efforts to trace the money before it is withdrawn or transferred elsewhere.

Mr. Awuah said financial institutions needed to cooperate more closely to address this challenge. “If fraud happens, we need to work a lot more together, we need to collaborate a lot more, and we need to cooperate a lot more so that we can improve the recovery rate,” he said.

His comments point to the importance of developing a system that enables institutions to respond quickly when suspicious transactions are reported, rather than leaving individual banks to tackle cases with limited information from other players.

The Ghana Association of Banks is advocating a common platform that would allow financial institutions and relevant service providers to share intelligence and coordinate their responses to fraud incidents.

The proposal reflects growing concerns that fraudsters are taking advantage of gaps between banks, fintech companies, payment service providers and telecommunications operators.

According to Mr. Awuah, criminal networks are increasingly sharing intelligence and coordinating their activities. Financial institutions, he argued, must adopt a similar level of cooperation to strengthen their defences.

A shared platform could help participating institutions exchange relevant information more quickly, identify suspicious transactions and improve the tracing of funds after fraudulent transfers.

Such collaboration could also help reduce the time between a customer reporting a scam and the institutions involved taking action.

However, the effectiveness of the proposed system would depend on how quickly information is exchanged, the quality of intelligence shared and the ability of participating institutions to act on alerts.

Appropriate safeguards would also be important to protect customer information while ensuring that legitimate transactions are not unnecessarily disrupted.

Mr. Awuah believes the ability to help customers recover their money, even when their own actions contributed to the incident, is essential to maintaining trust in digital financial services.

“When fraud happens, where there is a system breach or there is a customer who has mistakenly allowed the fraudster into their financial system, our ability as operators to help the customer to recover, even when they are at fault, is a big foot in the doorway of trust.”

He added that stronger collaboration could discourage fraudsters by reducing their chances of successfully moving and retaining stolen money.

“If we work together, if we invest in a common platform to fight fraud, we will be able to improve our recovery rate from where we are now… to a level where we make it, it disincentivizes the fraudsters.” 

Alongside the proposed industry-wide platform, GCB Bank is strengthening public education to help customers recognise scams before they lose money.

Chief Marketing, Communications and Customer Experience Officer at GCB Bank, Cynthia Ofori-Dwumfuo, said the bank’s “Inside the Scammers’ Playbook” event brought together several institutions involved in cybersecurity, law enforcement and financial services.

Participants included the National Signals Bureau, the Cybersecurity Authority, the Cybersecurity Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department, the Ghana Association of Banks and GCB’s internal cybersecurity team.

Held as part of the bank’s Customer Service Month, the initiative was designed to help customers understand common scam tactics and learn how to verify suspicious requests before taking action.

The effort recognises that technological safeguards alone may not be enough to prevent fraud. Criminals frequently rely on deception, impersonation and social engineering to persuade customers to disclose sensitive information or authorise transactions.

By helping customers identify warning signs, banks hope to reduce the number of successful attacks and limit the financial losses associated with scams.

GCB Bank is also using its GCB Ɛyɛ Azaa Campaign alongside the Ghana Association of Banks’ “Spot the Fraud, Shine Your Eyes” campaign to improve public awareness of financial scams.

Ms. Ofori-Dwumfuo urged customers to double-check suspicious communications and contact their banks directly whenever they are uncertain about a request.

The advice is particularly important when individuals receive unexpected messages or calls asking them to share account details, provide verification codes or transfer money urgently.

Customers are encouraged to use official banking contact channels rather than relying on telephone numbers or links supplied in suspicious communications.

Ultimately, Ghana’s fight against financial fraud will require a combination of stronger institutional cooperation, effective technology and informed customers.

The proposed common platform could strengthen the industry’s ability to trace stolen funds, but its impact will depend on the commitment of banks and their partners to share intelligence and respond promptly.

With the estimated recovery rate remaining low, the pressure is on financial institutions to demonstrate that closer collaboration can help protect customers and make digital financial services safer and more trustworthy.

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