The Bank of Ghana recently issued a statement on its policy to promote and guide the development and use of crowdfunding products and services for the banking sector. This move reflects the Bank’s commitment to promote the modernisation of the banking industry and facilitate financial inclusion.

Models of crowdfunding currently permitted under Bank of Ghana’s policy are donation-based and reward-based crowdfunding. These models entails the collection, holding and disbursement of funds, and are available to banks, Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs), Dedicated Electronic Money Issuers (DEMIs) and Enhanced Payment Service Providers (EPSPs). In the case of DEMIs, merchant wallets must be created and dedicated to the collection of donations while adhering to predefined minimum due diligence requirements corresponding to the merchant account type. EPSPs will however require the support of a bank or SDI to fully deliver the service since they do not issue electronic wallets or accounts to their customers.

The Central Bank is hopeful that the implementation of this policy will allow for easy monitoring and reporting of crowdfunding initiatives and ensure compliance of use of funds for intended purposes.

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