Ghana's proposed Virtual Asset Bill by the Bank of Ghana and its potential effects on the country's Fintech sector.
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) is set to introduce the Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Act by September 2025, marking a significant step towards integrating digital assets into the mainstream financial system. This regulatory framework aims to legitimise and formalise the digital asset sector, making Ghana more attractive to global fintech players.
Mobile money services, operated by telecom giants like MTN Ghana and Telecel Ghana, currently dominate the sector, facilitating everything from utility payments to remittances. However, the VASP Act is poised to introduce a new era, particularly for remittances in Ghana, which has one of the highest remittances in Africa at $6 billion in 2024.
The Act's primary objective is to ensure financial system stability, mitigate operational risks posed by virtual assets, and align Ghana’s digital asset sector with international standards. It also aims to protect consumers, formalise the digital asset ecosystem, and generate revenue. The BoG's draft guidelines, released in August 2024, emphasise consumer protection, cybersecurity, and financial stability.
A key feature of the VASP Act is a tiered licensing regime and potential innovation sandbox for fintech startups to test blockchain services legally. This could encourage innovation, legalise previously unregulated or illegal operations, and increase customer and investor confidence due to mandated transparency and consumer protections.
However, the Act may raise operational costs and complexity for VASPs, potentially limiting some smaller or informal operators. Registered companies would need to comply with stringent anti-money laundering (AML), Know Your Customer (KYC), and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) regulations. Approximately 3 million Ghanaians, which is 17% of the adult population, actively use cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will collaborate with the BoG to ensure complementary oversight, with the SEC focusing on digital asset offerings in the capital markets. The use of crypto, particularly stablecoins, for cross-border transactions could reduce transaction costs and enhance financial inclusion, especially for Ghana's unbanked population.
If executed well, the new bill could unlock new opportunities for digital finance in Ghana, allowing local fintechs to build new features for users, which could leverage cross-border payments and virtual asset services. The BoG's regulatory sandbox, launched in 2022, has already fostered some blockchain innovations. The upcoming bill could expand such initiatives, enabling fintech startups to explore tokenized assets, stablecoins, and decentralised finance (DeFi) applications within a controlled environment.
In conclusion, the VASP Act aims to bring Ghana’s virtual asset industry into a structured, secure, and internationally aligned regulatory environment, fostering market growth and safeguarding stakeholders while imposing stricter operational standards on service providers. This move could position Ghana as a hub for fintech innovation in Africa.
The VASP Act, scheduled for introduction in September 2025, could revolutionize the remittance industry in Ghana, a country with one of the highest remittances in Africa at $6 billion in 2024. This Act aims to foster a more structured, secure, and internationally aligned regulatory environment for the digital asset sector, which includes finance, business, and technology.
In the new era introduced by the VASP Act, fintech startups might be encouraged to innovate, especially in the realm of blockchain services, as the tiered licensing regime and potential innovation sandbox allow for legal testing of new technologies. This could lead to the development of novel digital finance features, such as cross-border payments and virtual asset services, potentially increasing financial inclusion for Ghana's unbanked population.
