Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), said the sector regulator will soon grant licences to financial institutions to start non-interest banking (Islamic banking) operations in the country.

Despite not providing any timelines, he said the Bank was ready to receive and review applications and grant licences to institutions that met the requirements, noting growing investor interest in the sector.

He said this at the 128th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) press briefing in Accra on Wednesday, where a 250-basis-point policy rate cut was announced, bringing the rate to 15.5 per cent from 18 per cent.

“A number of potential investors are writing to us and doing the necessary checks. So, we are optimistic that very soon, we may be able to see a formal application for a licence that we can review and take things forward,” Dr Asiama said.

He said progress had been made since the announcement of the operationalisation of non-interest banking last year, with a series of consultations held and a guideline published to guide conduct in the sector.

A non-interest banking business is one that strictly avoids interest, excessive uncertainty or ambiguity, gambling or speculative transactions resembling chance, and financing of prohibited activities.

For the Central Bank, establishing the sector is intended to support economic growth, deepen financial inclusion, promote sustainable development, and create new jobs, aligning with the Bank’s objectives of price stability, financial stability, and economic development.

In November 2025, Professor John Gartchie Gatsi, Advisor to the Governor on non-interest banking, said the regulator was fully prepared to roll out operations for the sector following the completion of all structural and guideline requirements.

Prof. Gatsi reiterated the importance of interest-free banking for Ghana and called for greater adoption.

He said it was founded on Islamic principles, which provided a system in which lending and borrowing occurred without interest, and the proceeds were shared under profit-and-loss agreements.

He had demystified the notion of interest-free banking as a tool to promote the Islamic religion and as an avenue to raise alternative funds to develop its economy, particularly Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), without the burden of interest payments.

“If you go to the US, UK and Malaysia, it is there as an alternative banking. Most secular economies include Islamic banking as part of their financial systems. So that is what we should be aspiring to have in the country, to augment what we have, to promote other areas that we are not able to promote,” he said.

Although the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930) provides for non-interest banking in Ghana, interest in the sector meant that a framework to guide operations was not formalised until 2025.