Industry-wide coordination needed to scale inclusive instant payments – BoG  

By Joshua Worlasi AMLANU

The Bank of Ghana is pushing for stronger coordination among regulators, banks, fintech firms and payment system operators to accelerate the rollout of interoperable instant payment systems across Africa.

The central bank says fragmented payment infrastructure, high transaction costs and limited interoperability continue to constrain the seamless movement of funds across platforms and borders, undermining efforts to build a more integrated digital economy on the continent.

Speaking at the 3i Africa Summit 2026, First Deputy Governor Dr. Zakari Mumuni said inclusive instant payment systems should be treated as critical economic infrastructure rather than optional financial technology upgrades.

“Africa stands at a decisive moment,” Dr. Mumuni said during his keynote address on inclusive instant payments.

While mobile money, digital wallets and fintech innovation have expanded financial access over the past two decades, he noted that high transaction costs, siloed platforms and weak interoperability continue to limit the efficient movement of money across systems and borders.

He said the absence of seamless integration risks slowing the development of a fully connected digital economy across the continent.

The deputy governor argued that properly designed instant payment systems could support real-time, low-cost transactions between banks, fintech platforms and consumers, while improving liquidity management, business cash cycles and productivity. He added that governments could also benefit through stronger revenue mobilisation, improved transparency and more efficient targetting of public interventions.

“For financial institutions, they unlock data that can drive innovation in credit, savings, and risk management,” he said.

Dr. Mumuni acknowledged that several African countries, including Ghana, have made progress deploying digital payment infrastructure. Ghana has expanded mobile money interoperability and introduced multiple instant payment platforms in recent years as part of broader financial inclusion reforms led by the central bank and  Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems.

However, he said infrastructure deployment alone will not guarantee inclusion.

“No instant payment system has fully achieved inclusivity at scale,” he said, adding that systems must ”function “seamlessly for all users, across all platforms, in real time” if they are to serve as genuine economic infrastructure.

The deputy governor said the next phase of reform will require harmonised electronic know-your-customer (eKYC) frameworks, aligned licencing regimes and stronger cross-border cooperation to support interoperability between jurisdictions.

He stressed that central banks alone cannot deliver integration without active collaboration from financial institutions, fintech firms and payment service providers.

At close of the summit’s opening day, Dr. Mumuni said fragmentation across payment systems and regulatory regimes remains one of the largest constraints on Africa’s ambition to build a single digital market.

“The task before us is not invention but scale: connecting national systems, harmonising standards and enabling seamless movement of value across borders,” he said.

He also warned that rapid digital financial expansion could expose African markets to new risks, including cybersecurity threats, data misuse, irresponsible lending and excessive market concentration. Regulators, he said, will need to balance innovation with financial stability and consumer protection.

The remarks underscore a growing policy shift among African central banks toward digital public infrastructure and regional payment connectivity as governments seek to deepen financial inclusion, reduce transaction costs and support intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area framework.

Dr. Mumuni said the long-term success of the continent’s digital finance agenda will depend less on policy discussions and more on execution.

“The success of 3i Africa will not be measured by the quality of our discussions today, but by the actions we take tomorrow,” he said.

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