It is a pleasure to present this edition of The GH Bankers’ Voice, themed, ‘Evolving Dynamics of Ghana’s Banking Sector”. This theme is a timely reflection as Ghana embarks on a bold economic reset, as reflected in the 2025 Budget.
The global banking landscape is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by economic shifts, rapid technological advancements and evolving regulatory frameworks. Against this background, Ghana’s banking sector is uniquely positioned to build on its recovery foundation by reinforcing its capacity to withstand future uncertainties while fostering long-term, responsible growth.
The “Economic Reset Agenda” and Banking Sector Outlook
The 2025 Budget, themed “Resetting the Economy for the Ghana We Want,” offers a roadmap for the government’s reset agenda by emphasising fiscal discipline, economic inclusivity (through policy, financial products or access to finance) and sustainable growth.
A key fiscal policy such as the removal of the e-levy on mobile money transactions reduces costs of digital payments while enhancing a “cash-lite” society. This is intended to encourage consumer spending and business growth, leading to increased banking activity from deposits to expanded credit access.
Harnessing Digital Channels to Deliver Tailored Financial Services in Ghana
Digital innovation continues to reshape how Ghanaians interact with financial services as digital channels have become the preferred touchpoints for many customers.
Insights from the KPMG 2024 West Africa Banking Industry Customer Experience Survey revealed a marked shift: Ghanaian customers are more discerning and value-driven, increasingly expecting personalised, seamless, and transparent digital experiences. Notably, the SME segment has emerged as a leader in customer satisfaction, underscoring the vital role of SMEs in Ghana’s economic fabric. However, personalisation remains a challenge. For instance, only 32% of customers in the SME segment reported receiving services tailored to their financial needs, underscoring a significant opportunity for differentiation. Therefore, it is not surprising that some SME customers still perceive banking services as generic rather than tailored to their unique needs. Banks must therefore deepen their understanding of individual customer journeys, leveraging data analytics and ethical AI-driven insights to create empathetic, trust-based relationships.
This is where open banking becomes the next frontier of Banks; gaining a deeper understanding of their customers, thus allowing for more tailored services by securely exchanging data amongst other financial institutions and third parties. Similar to other African countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa who are in various stages of open banking adoption, the Bank of Ghana’s Draft Open Banking Directive signals Ghana’s preparedness for enabling more customer tailored products and services. The success of this initiative rides on Ghana's payment system interoperability and the single source of identity verification amongst others.
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