Bank of Ghana to adopt cautious approach in piloting e-cedi – Kwame Oppong

BoG partners Giesecke+Devrient for e-cedi pilot

Ghanaians to use digital currencies soon

Head of Innovation and Fintech at the Bank of Ghana, Kwame Oppong has said it has adopted a cautious approach in piloting the bank’s first digital currency also known as the E-cedi.

The central bank in September 2021 commenced processes to pilot the e-cedi with the move expected to take place for 18 months.

Speaking at the Absa Bank-UPSA Law School Quarterly Banking Roundtable, Kwame Oppong said the piloting process is well on course.

“We are very cautious to remind everybody that we are running a pilot, we are trying not to test the dearth of water. And so, we want to understand how the dynamics will be. Like I said the technology is straightforward”.

“We are fortunate to have a partner that we carefully selected with 160 years’ experience in the currency business and has sophisticated equipment [Giesecke+Devrient]. So, we’re trying to make the right decisions all along”, the Innovation and FinTech head explained.

“This is very serious and has major implications, so we are not taking any risks, we are not taking any chances. So, we are being deliberate about it,” he added.

Meanwhile, Kwame Oppong assured that the central bank is making no rush decision in the implementation of the digital currency and will accordingly inform the public about its next line action.

“When this pilot is over as a Central Bank and as a policy institution, we will notify the public about what the next steps are and continue to share your inputs and feedback as this process goes on.”

In June 2021, Governor of the Bank of Ghana Dr Ernest Addison, disclosed that the digital currency (E-Cedi) is in the advanced stages and will go through three phases – design, implementation and piloting – before it goes into circulation.

The design phase, which involves the design of the digital money, is completed. After the design phase, the central bank will move to the implementation and the piloting stage where a few people would be able to use the digital cedi on their mobile applications and other apps that are currently running.