The second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Matilda Asante Asiedu, says the central bank is rolling out a range of regulatory and digital infrastructure initiatives aimed at strengthening cross-border payments and supporting inclusive economic growth across Africa.

Speaking at the 2026 Africa Prosperity Dialogue at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) on Wednesday, February 4, Mrs Asiedu said the BoG’s interventions are designed to address longstanding challenges in payment interoperability, regulatory trust and consumer protection, which continue to constrain intra-African trade.

She explained that a key initiative currently being advanced is the FinTech Passport, a collaborative arrangement between the Bank of Ghana and the Bank of Rwanda.

The framework allows for cross-border licensing of fintech firms and promotes regulatory trust between participating countries, a move she believes could be scaled up across the continent to facilitate trade and financial integration.

“Now, at the Bank of Ghana, we are advancing key initiatives. First is our FinTech Passport, which is a transactional collaboration between the Bank of Ghana and the Bank of Rwanda to enable cross-border licensing and regulatory trust,” she stated, adding that the model has the potential to support seamless payments across African markets.

Mrs Asiedu also highlighted the Bank’s Next Generation Digital Public Infrastructure initiative, which is currently testing multilateral interoperability frameworks, settlement modules and future cross-border currency arrangements.

According to her, these efforts are intended to lay the foundation for a more integrated and resilient African payment ecosystem.

In addition, she pointed to the recently passed Virtual Asset Service Providers Act as a critical regulatory tool to support emerging digital payment channels while safeguarding consumers and ensuring effective risk oversight.

“Our most recently passed Virtual Asset Service Providers Act is designed to support emerging digital channel payments while ensuring strong consumer protection and risk oversight,” she noted.

She stressed that the BoG recognises payment systems as critical national and continental infrastructure that must be supported by strong cybersecurity measures, effective regulatory coordination and trusted governance frameworks.

“These initiatives recognise that payment systems constitute critical national and continental infrastructure,” she said, adding that the broader objective of the reforms is to promote inclusive growth and ensure that Africa’s digital and financial transformation benefits all segments of society.