This would also ensure that companies providing digital financial services, observe laid down regulations.

Dr. Abdul-Nashiru Issahaku, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, disclosed these in a speech read on his behalf, at the 20th National Banking Conference, organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers (Ghana), in Accra

He said the MoU seek to address consumer protection, fraud detection and investigations for a secured and stabilised electronic financial system.

Dr. Abdul-Nashiru Issahaku said the agreement also spelt out the responsibilities of each institution in safeguarding the interest of electronic money transactions.

He said his outfit had formulated policies to handle the right legal and regulatory environment, strong reporting and monitoring framework and built partnership between the NCA and financial institutions as well as providing structures to drive innovation in the financial sector.

According to Dr. Issahaku, all the policies were being pursued at the same time to protect the integrity of financial institutions, in this era of digital money.

To ensure security in the sector, the BoG, he said, required all Mobile Money operators to obtain international security certifications, to promote the integrity of the Mobile Money sub sector and enhance customer confidence.

Dr. Issahaku said robust technology and collaboration among stakeholders, was needed to design and deliver nationwide digital financial education, to empower users against fraud and cyber threat to financial structures.

He urged telecommunication companies and banking institutions to sustain their collaboration, to promote financial inclusion and build a cashless society.

Dr. Issahaku urged stakeholders to undertake technology driven innovations, to build on gains of the financial sector and ensure stability.

Speaking on the theme “The Emerging Mobile Money Business in Ghana: The way forward”, Mr. Ato Sarpong, Deputy Minister of Communications, said the world, which was driven by communication and money management, required proper convergence of technology, and asked the financial sector to create accessibility and convenience for stakeholders.

He said mobile money transfer had ensured improvement in realising a cashless economy, and enhanced financial inclusion, and urged telecommunication groups and banks, to share infrastructure and systems to support the building of a strong and resilient economy.

On government’s role in building a strong financial base, Mr. Sarpong said government in consultation with the BoG would continue to introduce regulations and policies aimed at reducing risk and faced by stakeholders, and embark on infrastructural development, to ensure that those outside the financial space were covered.

He was, however, optimistic that digital money transactions would grow through a convergence of mobile network operators.

By Claude Nyarko Adams and Dinah Twumasi