Commercial banks have started enforcing a new directive from the Bank of Ghana on foreign currency withdrawals.

The directive is coming from the Revised Charges and Reporting Requirements on Foreign Currency Cash Transactions directive from the Bank of Ghana.

A text message sent from some of the commercial banks on 11 September 2025 informed their clients that “in line with BoG guidelines, there is a 5% withdrawal fee effective immediately”.

It added that this is on foreign accounts funded by transfer or cheque deposits.

The message from the banks added that foreign accounts funded with cash deposits are exempted.

The message from these commercial banks was therefore meant to formally notify holders of these accounts that they have started applying these charges.

Bank of Ghana Directive

A letter from the Bank of Ghana to the commercial banks on 27 August 2025, seen by Joy Business, however, stated the following updates regarding foreign currency accounts effective 25 August 2025:

A charge of 5% shall be applied to all foreign currency cash withdrawals made from account balances not funded with physical deposits.

The Bank of Ghana was, however, quick to add that withdrawals made from physically deposited foreign currency “remain exempt from this charge, thereby ensuring continued access to previously deposited funds without incurring additional fees.”

The same letter also reminded the commercial banks that they are now required to submit a utilisation report to the Bank of Ghana for each withdrawal of foreign currency cash not funded with physical cash deposits.

The Bank of Ghana has also directed the commercial banks to submit a utilisation report to the Central Bank for each withdrawal of foreign currency cash not funded with a physical cash deposit.

It added that “the report must clearly indicate the purchase and usage of withdrawn funds".

The letter to the Banks stated that following the importation, banks are also requested to submit a utilisation report to the Bank of Ghana, detailing how the imported funds were used.

It is unclear for now what might have influenced this directive from the Bank of Ghana and whether this is part of several actions the regulator has taken to ensure that all the players abide by foreign exchange guidelines and regulations.