STANDARD CHARTERED DIGITAL BANKING, INNOVATION &

FINTECH FESTIVAL

"REGULATION AS AN ENABLER FOR DIGITISING THE

FINANCIAL SECTOR"

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

DR. ERNEST ADDISON,

GOVERNOR, BANK OF GHANA

3RD NOVEMBER 2021

Your Excellency, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President of the Republic of Ghana,

Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Ghana,

Hon. Ursula Owusu Ekuful, Minister of Communication and Digitalisation of the Republic of Ghana,

Hon. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister and Chairman of Monetary Authority of Singapore,

Deputy Governors of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari and Mrs. Elsie Addo Awadzi,

Mr. Sunil Kaushal, CEO, Africa and Middle East, Standard Chartered PLC,

Mr. Lamin Manjang, CEO, Nigeria and West Africa, Standard Chartered PLC

Dr. Emmanuel Kumah, Board Chairman, Standard Chartered Bank (Ghana) PLC,

Mrs. Mansa Nettey, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank (Ghana) PLC,

Staff of Standard Chartered Bank (Ghana) Limited,

Stakeholders in the Banking and Digital Finance Sectors,

Distinguished Invited Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

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  1. Thank you very much for the invitation to be part of today's event, which commemorates 125 years of Standard Chartered Bank in Ghana as part of the Bank's Digital Banking and Fintech Festival initiative. The story of Standard Chartered cannot be told without mention of the bank's significant contribution to various sectors of the Ghanaian economy, pre- dating independence. With commitment to strong banking principles and good corporate governance practises, Stanchart has maintained its position as a top-tier bank in terms of assets and deposits within the banking sector. It is therefore my pleasure to share in the 125-year success story and say 'Ayekoo' to all of you at Stanchart for carrying the torch laid by the bank's forbearers.
  2. This Digital Banking Summit and Fintech Festival once again positions Stanchart as a trail blazer, with the foresight and preparedness towards the next generation of banking models. Based on the chosen theme of
    "Shaping the next phase of Ghana's Financial Technology Landscape for the 21st Century", I will focus my remarks on the strong foundations that have been laid, in terms of the infrastructure and regulatory frameworks,

to support and strengthen Ghana's financial digitisation agenda.

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  1. Ladies and Gentlemen, banking in Ghana has changed significantly from the last quarter of the nineteenth century when Standard Chartered first opened its doors to customers more than a century ago. Presently, the industry is characterised by adoption and diffusion of technology in every sphere of banking operations. Digitisation of bank accounts has enabled customers to conduct financial services via online platforms in a seamless manner without stepping foot in the banking hall. The positive aspect of these is the broad acceptability of these technology driven financial services due to its convenience, efficiency and affordability. This has also instigated innovative digital financial products services by banks and financial technology firms, to further reinforce financial inclusion.
  2. Ladies and Gentlemen, the current vibrant state of Ghana's digital financial service ecosystem is a product of well-thought-out and carefully crafted reforms and policies, spearheaded by the Bank over the past two decades.

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  1. After a series of strategic policy papers, the Bank of Ghana facilitated the passage of the Payment Systems Act 2003 (Act 662), which provided the legal basis and regulatory anchor for the introduction of technology in the banking industry. With this Law, a real time gross settlement system, which is the Ghana Interbank Settlement (GIS) system, was implemented. This infrastructure significantly improved the efficiency of wholesale and large value interbank funds transfer and liquidity management.
  2. Subsequently, additional institutional reforms carried out in line with Act 662 paved the way to establish the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems Limited (GhIPSS) in May 2007. Since then, GhIPSS has rapidly transformed the payment ecosystem through the implementation of interoperable interbank retail payment systems, including electronic cheque clearing, automated clearing house for direct debit and credit funds transfer, instant payment, gh-Link card, and mobile money interoperability. These systems, in addition to complementary systems by banks, have facilitated straight-through processing of payment transactions swiftly and efficiently with marginal errors relative

to manual processes.

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Bank of Ghana published this content on 03 November 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 03 November 2021 15:34:06 UTC.