Bank of Ghana cautions public over Bitcoin
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has cautioned the public against usage of Bitcoin in transactions.
In a statement it said: “The Bank of Ghana has taken notice of
recent developments in the use, holding, and trading of virtual or
digital currencies (also known as cryptocurrencies), such as Bitcoin in
Ghana.
“The Bank of Ghana wishes to notify the general public that these
activities in digital currency are currently not licensed under the
Payments System Act 2003 (Act 662).”
The statement continued that, “The Bank of Ghana is currently
investing a lot of resources to further enhance the payments and
settlements system, including digital forms of money and also to
introduce cyber security guidelines to safeguard electronic and online
financial transactions. A revised Payments System Act referred to as
Payment Systems and Services Bill will be considered by Parliament
within the next couple of months.
“This revision should bring the electronic payments space up to date
to international standards and aligned with the evolving electronic
payments landscape. While the Bank of Ghana acknowledges the enormous
potential in the blockchain technology and how that can significantly
transform the payments system landscape and promote financial inclusion,
we are assessing with stakeholders and other international partners how
the subsequent use of the blockchain technology into digital currencies
would fit into the global financial and payments architecture.
“The public is therefore strongly encouraged to do business with
only institutions licensed by the Bank of Ghana to ensure that such
transactions fall under our regulatory purview. For the avoidance of
doubt, the public can always consult our website (www.bog.gov.gh) for a list of licensed banks and non-bank financial institutions in Ghana.”
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