The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has clarified that existing rules on foreign exchange withdrawals remain unchanged, as it moves to clear up any confusion on the matter.

In a public notice issued on Thursday, May 15, the apex bank stressed that over-the-counter (OTC) cash withdrawals in foreign currency from Foreign Exchange Accounts (FEA) and Foreign Currency Accounts (FCA) are still permitted.

“For non-FEA and non-FCA account holders, forex purchases for travel outside Ghana are allowed but capped at US$10,000 or its equivalent per person per trip,” the bank added.

Such transactions must be backed by a valid passport, visa, and confirmed travel ticket, as previously stated in BoG Notice BG/GOV/SEC/2014/09.

The notice also confirmed that cheques and cheque books may continue to be issued on both FEA and FCA accounts.

The central bank made it clear that it has not made any changes to these measures, despite speculation in the public space.

“The bank has not contemplated reviewing these existing measures,” the statement emphasised.

The BoG has advised all banks and the general public to take note and comply accordingly.

This clarification comes a day after Isaac Adongo, a member of the BoG board, announced plans to intensify restrictions on over-the-counter US dollar withdrawals from financial institutions.

In an interview on PM Express with Evans Mensah, Adongo explained, “If you put your dollars in the bank account, it is okay. We are happy with that; you can only get dollars if indeed you are going to use them for a dollar-denominated transaction.”

Read also: No more over-the-counter dollar withdrawals – Adongo

However, the Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB) on the same day countered Mr Adongo’s claims, saying that banks had received no such directive from the Bank of Ghana.

Chief Executive of the GAB, John Awuah, told JoyNews, “I can say on authority that as a community of banks, we do not have any directive that bars over-the-counter withdrawal of USD or any foreign currency."

Read also: We haven’t received any directive to halt over-the-counter dollar withdrawals – Bankers Association