GHANA: Branchless Banking Guidelines Released

Approved regulations released for undertaking "branchless banking" in Ghana (September 2008)

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has issued guidelines for "branchless banking" (the provision of banking services outside of bank branches using information and communication technologies (ICTs) and non-bank actors such as grocery stores, pharmacies, and mobile network operators). Under the new guidelines, deposit-taking financial institutions (including banks and savings & loan companies) will be permitted to enter into arrangements with such non-bank actors in order to increase access to formal financial services in areas where many Ghanaians remain unserved by brick-and-mortar bank branches.

Key provisions of the guidelines include the following:

• Only deposit-taking financial institutions (FIs) may offer branchless banking services (i.e. each customer must have an account with a deposit-taking FI, so a nonbank-based model such as M-Pesa in Kenya or GCash in the Philippines would not be permitted).
•  No exclusive branchless banking partnerships are permitted.  All branchless banking arrangements must be compliant with Ghana's national switch, the e-zwich system.
• A wide variety of services may be offered by agents, including account opening, deposits, withdrawals, person-to-person transfers, bill payments, purchase of goods/services, and loan disbursement/repayment.
• Agents must comply with anti-money laundering requirements, including the need to identify and verify each customer's identity and the need to keep records for at least five years.