{
  "id": 6269618,
  "title": "Ghana’s money is changing faster than its financial system",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/ghanas-money-is-changing-faster-than-its-financial-system",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-08T09:59:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
    "slug": "myjoyonline-ghana",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/ghanas-money-is-changing-faster-than-its-financial-system/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Ghana's virtual asset market has been rapidly expanding, outpacing the country's financial infrastructure. The Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, passed in December 2025, establishes the legal framework for registration, licensing, and supervision of these providers, but the law was designed to accommodate an already thriving market. Chainalysis estimates that Sub-Saharan Africa, including Ghana, received over US$205 billion in on-chain value between July 2024 and June 2025, a 52% increase from the previous year, with Ghana ranking among the top five markets in the region. More than 8% of transactions involved amounts below US$10,000, indicating that the market's growth extends beyond speculative trading.\n\nJulien Ayyipey, Head of Data Analytics, Research, and Strategy at First National Bank, notes that virtual assets are increasingly intersecting with smaller transactions, cross-border payments, and ordinary financial activity. Stablecoins are becoming an important tool for value transfer across borders. He highlights two key economic issues: settlement and ownership and record-keeping. While tokenization does not inherently increase the value of an asset, it can improve the financial system's efficiency by making records clearer and reducing friction in certain processes. However, this does not eliminate credit risk, legal uncertainty, fraud, weak enforcement, or poor governance.\n\nOne of the most significant applications of virtual assets is in cross-border payments. Remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa still cost an average of 8.78% in the first quarter of 2025, despite a slight decrease to 8.46% by the third quarter. The region remains the most expensive globally for receiving remittances, presenting an economic incentive to reduce costs and complexity. A regulated provider operating within Ghana's financial system can offer a regulated route between digital value and the domestic economy, potentially leading to increased competition and lower transaction costs for consumers. For businesses, this could mean more efficient processes through digital settlement infrastructure and tokenization, which can represent an invoice digitally, making verification, transfer, and financing more efficient. However, it is crucial to remember that a tokenized invoice does not transform a bad debtor into a good one or guarantee repayment; it only enhances the record of ownership and transfer.",
  "summary": "By the time the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act was passed in December 2025, Ghana’s virtual asset market was already up and running. Substantial financial activity is already taking place through virtual asset platforms, much of it beyond the traditional banking and payments system. The Bank of Ghana describes Act 1154 as establishing the legal […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}