The Bank of Ghana recently pointed the finger at eight money transfer organizations which are allegedly operating in Ghana’s remittances and forex market without its approval. The central bank also warned the public and regulated financial institutions against having dealings with the eight firms.
Eight Firms Did Not Adhere to the Requirements of the Foreign Exchange Act
The Ghanaian central bank has identified eight money transfer organizations (MTOs) that are operating in the country’s remittances and forex markets without its approval. In a notice issued on Nov. 16, the Bank of Ghana (BOG) also warned the public and regulated financial institutions against having dealings with said MTOs.
According to the notice, the eight MTOs are Lemfi, Wise, Transfer Go, Xoom-A Paypal Service, Sendvalu, Boss Revolution, BTC-AZA Finance, and Supersonicz. The notice said each of the above MTOs is violating Section 3.1 of the Foreign Exchange Act, 2006 (Act 723). This law states that no person should “engage in the business of dealing in foreign exchange without a licence issued under this Act.”
Furthermore, section 15.3 of the same law specifically states that any movement of foreign exchange to and from Ghana should be done by persons with the requisite licenses. The central bank also reminded approved MTOs that they should adhere to the requirements of their respective licenses at all times.
“Approved MTOs are hereby reminded to terminate their foreign exchange flows through their partner institutions only and to adhere strictly to all guidelines in respect of their operations,” the bank explained.
Ghana’s Foreign Exchange Woes
Ghana, like many of its fellow African countries, has grappled with a shortage of foreign exchange on the official market. The shortage has not only increased pressure on the local currency’s exchange rate versus the U.S. dollar but has also fueled inflation. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, the Ghanaian cedi was one of the world’s worst-performing currencies in 2022.
Ghanaian monetary authorities have since adopted several measures which are aimed at restricting the forex parallel market’s influence on the economy. Some of these include the suspension of licenses of financial institutions caught on the wrong side of the law.
In its latest such action against supposedly errant institutions, the BOG said on Nov. 20 it had imposed a fine and suspended the “forex licence of Zeepay Ghana Limited from 27th November 2023 to 8th December 2023.”
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