{"id":114037,"date":"2026-02-04T14:42:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T14:42:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=114037"},"modified":"2026-02-04T14:42:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T14:42:02","slug":"cross-border-payment-reforms-key-to-afcfta-success-bank-of-ghana-deputy-governor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=114037","title":{"rendered":"Cross-border payment reforms key to AfCFTA success \u2014 Bank of Ghana Deputy Governor"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Payments remain one of the biggest obstacles to Africa\u2019s ambition of building a truly integrated single market under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Matilda Asante Asiedu, has said.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the Africa Prosperity Dialogues 2026, she stressed that without secure, affordable, and reliable payment systems, efforts to deepen intra-African trade would fall short.<\/p>\n

\u201cPayments make trade possible. Without secure, affordable, and reliable means of transferring value, the promise of a truly integrated African market cannot be achieved,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

According to Madam Asiedu, payment systems should be seen as strategic trade infrastructure, critical for monetary stability, financial integration, and long-term economic transformation across the continent.<\/p>\n

Despite Africa\u2019s enormous economic potential, she noted that cross-border payments within the continent remain expensive, slow, and fragmented.<\/p>\n

\u201cTransaction costs for intra-Africa payments exceed between 7 and 10 per cent, compared to about 3 per cent globally. Settlement times can also take days or even weeks,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

She said these challenges, while significant, also present major opportunities for innovation and reform.<\/p>\n

The deputy governor highlighted that AfCFTA brings together a market of more than 1.5 billion people with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of about $2.8 trillion. If fully implemented, she said, trade within Africa could double in the medium term.<\/p>\n

However, she cautioned that such growth would only materialise if the continent\u2019s payment systems are upgraded to match its trade ambitions.<\/p>\n

Madam Asiedu also pointed to Africa\u2019s leadership in digital finance, particularly in mobile money and financial inclusion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith more than half of the world\u2019s mobile wallets on the continent, Africa has shown that technology can expand financial inclusion and transform livelihoods,\u201d she said, citing Ghana as a leading example.<\/p>\n

She added that while digital finance has made it easier for people to transact within their countries, more must be done to enable seamless payments across borders.<\/p>\n

\u201cInclusion must not stop at national boundaries. It must extend beyond individual countries if Africa\u2019s single market is to truly work,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n

The Africa Prosperity Dialogues 2026, held in Accra, brought together policymakers, business leaders, financial institutions, and development partners to discuss practical ways of accelerating economic integration and trade under AfCFTA.<\/p>\n

Ghana, which hosts the AfCFTA Secretariat, continues to play a central role in driving conversations around trade facilitation, digital payments, and regional integration.<\/p>\n

Industry players at the forum agreed that improving payment infrastructure, harmonising regulations, and promoting interoperable digital platforms will be critical to unlocking the full benefits of intra-African trade.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Payments remain one of the biggest obstacles to Africa\u2019s ambition of building a truly integrated single market under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Matilda Asante Asiedu, has said.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the Africa Prosperity Dialogues 2026, she stressed that without secure, affordable, and reliable payment systems, efforts to deepen intra-African trade would fall short.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4829,1972,1883,117,7850,10,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-afcfta","category-africa","category-national","category-news","category-payment","category-politics","category-popular"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=114037"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114037\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=114037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=114037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=114037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}