The Bank of Ghana is urging the public especially traders and market operators to accept all legally issued coins, including smaller denominations such as 1, 5, 10, 20, and 50 pesewas, as valid forms of payment.

This follows increasing reports of the lower denominations being rejected in everyday transactions, a practice the central bank says is both unlawful and harmful to the economy.

Speaking on the sidelines of a West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) workshop in Accra, Director of Currency Management at the Bank of Ghana, Mr. Dominic Owusu, stressed that all coins issued by the Bank remain legal tender and must be accepted.

“One thing that we need support from everybody is that Bank of Ghana is the only authority institution that is mandated to issue and redeem currency. For that matter, when we issue the currency, it becomes a legal tender. So nobody can say that currency that has been issued by the Bank will not be accepted.
So once the currency has been issued as a legal tender, it is your responsibility as a patriotic citizen who loves his country to accept the currency and use it.”

He warned that rejecting coins encourages price rounding, which contributes to inflation. He also noted that coins are more durable than notes and play a key role in maintaining stable prices.

“We will do our best, we will continue to ring and echo this into the minds of Ghanaians that there is no reason that the currency that has been issued as a legal tender, you reject it.
So I want to encourage all Ghanaians that all the currencies;1 pesewa, 5 pesewas, 10 pesewas, 20 pesewas, 50 pesewas, and for that matter 2 Ghana cedi coins are all legal tenders. The coins are very, very necessary to stabilizing prices. But in this absence, people will be rounding prices. And one interesting thing is that the coins stay in circulation longer and it helps us as a nation to save on printing notes. So please accept the coins. Nobody should reject coins that have been legally issued as a legal tender by the Central Bank.”

The Bank of Ghana says it will continue to engage the public and intensify education to ensure the full acceptance and circulation of all Ghanaian currency both notes and coins.