Bank of Ghana Clarifies Roles of FinTechs and MTOs in Remittance Process.
The Bank of Ghana has clarified that local FinTech companies authorized by the Central Bank do not directly mobilize foreign exchange from abroad. Instead, this responsibility lies with Money Transfer Operators- MTOs located overseas, which handle the receipt of remittances. The funds received by MTOs are deposited into the nostro accounts (a bank account that a domestic bank holds in a foreign bank, denominated in the foreign bank's local currency) of local partner banks, and Fintechs manage the downstream process of payments to beneficiaries within Ghana.
Recent concerns suggested that FinTechs were holding onto foreign exchange abroad, with claims that around $12 billion in remittances to Ghana between 2018 and 2022 went untracked. The BoG refuted these assertions, particularly dismissing reports that $8 billion had been withheld by newly licensed MTOs and 11 FinTech companies over the past two years. Discrepancies between the World Bank’s remittance tracking figures and the Auditor General’s recorded amounts further fueled public confusion.
