Ghana is preparing to deploy its Central Bank Digital Currency (e-Cedi) for cross-border transactions and regional financial integration, Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, has said.

The announcement follows the completion of the pilot phase of the e-Cedi and its incorporation into Ghana’s financial infrastructure to support intra-continental trade and economic activity.

“The e-Cedi has completed its pilot phase and we’re now actively designing its use for cross-border settlements and wholesale payments,” Dr Asiama stated at the opening of the two-day ACI World Congress in Accra.

Dr Asiama described the pilot as a milestone positioning Ghana at the frontier of digital finance in Africa, urging regulatory collaboration to scale adoption across the continent.

He noted that digital payments had become a strategic entry point into the formal financial system.

Dr Asiama said Ghana had passed the Virtual Assets Act, 2025 (Act 1154), and was operationalising it through a regulatory framework to provide clarity and investor confidence.

He emphasised that emerging economies were now active participants in shaping financial market policy.

“A payment that is initiated in Accra should clear in Abidjan or Lagos as it clears as easy in Kumasi, here in Ghana. This is not a regional aspiration; it is a design logic of competitive emerging markets in the decades that’s ahead,” he said.

Dr Asiama said that Ghana’s hosting of the ACI World Congress demonstrated Africa’s growing role in global financial market discussions.

Roy Daniels, Chairman of the ACI Financial Markets Association, said participation from Africa was increasing, describing current global market volatility as an opportunity for growth.

He pledged continued support for countries developing digital financial markets.

Lawrence Osilaja Boampong, ACI Ghana President, said the congress had positioned Accra as a hub for global ideas, partnerships and innovation, noting strong international interest in Africa’s evolving financial markets.

“This moment means so much to us; an aspiration has now become reality, and we see the room filled with leaders and delegations from across the world meeting with us. We have learned that through collaboration, remarkable things can happen,” he said.