The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has announced stricter measures against Banks, Dedicated Electronic Money Issuers (DEMIs), Enhanced Payment Service Providers (EPSPs), and Money Transfer Operators (MTOs).  

This comes as part of the ongoing fight against non-compliance with inward remittance guidelines. 

In a notice signed by Sandra Thompson, Secretary at the central bank, the bank observed persistent violations of the Foreign Exchange Act, 2006, and the Updated Guidelines for Inward Remittance Services by Payment Service Providers, despite previous cautions. 

The BoG has observed continued infractions, which include the termination of inward remittances using unapproved channels, engagement in Foreign Exchange Swaps within the context of Inward Remittance Business. 

Other violations, according to the central bank, included the termination of remittances on behalf of institutions without prior approval from the Bank of Ghana and the application of unprescribed foreign exchange rates. 

The Bank of Ghana has emphasised its commitment to sanctioning any violating institution and terminating the remittance partnerships of all MTOs whose operations were not in compliance with the approved guidelines. 

To ensure strict adherence, the BoG has reiterated that the funding of the Local Settlement Account should be strictly done in accordance with section 7.1 (c) of the Updated Guidelines for Inward Remittance Services by Payment Service Providers. 

The central bank also instructed that all disbursements shall be from the Local Settlement Account as stated in section 7.2 (a) of the Updated Guidelines for Inward Remittance Services by Payment Service Providers.  

It also said DEMIs/EPSPs should ensure that pre-funding arrangements with the Settlement Bank shall be done in accordance with section 7.2 (b) of the Updated Guidelines for Inward Remittance Services by Payment Service Providers. 

In the bid to ensure transparency and accountability in the foreign exchange and remittance ecosystem, all Banks, DEMIs, and EPSPs are now expressly directed to submit weekly reports per MTO.  

These comprehensive reports must detail daily individual inward remittance transactions logs, along with the corresponding daily sum of foreign exchange credited into respective Nostro accounts. 

The Bank of Ghana stressed that failure to submit accurate and timely reports constituted a regulatory breach under Section 42 of the Payment Systems and Services Act (Act 987) and Section 93(3) (d) of Act 930 and will attract the appropriate administrative sanctions.