New e-Cedi To Support Offline Transactions – Bank of Ghana
According to the Bank of Ghana, the upcoming e-Cedi central bank digital currency (CBDC) will be able to support offline transactions
Speaking at the 2021 Ghana Economic Forum, Kwame Oppong, the Head of Fintech and Innovation at the Bank of Ghana (BoG), said that offline functionality will allow Ghanaians who lack reliable access to electricity and internet connectivity to embrace the CBDC.
84% of Ghanaians have stable electricity but just 53% have internet access.
BDCs are digital forms of a jurisdiction’s legal currency and are designed to be available via smartphones.
Mr Oppong said the country’s digital currency, the e-cedi, would work offline through the use of smart cards. Smart cards are physical cards embedded with a chip, similar to modern bank cards.
Still at the forum, Mr Oppong mentioned that efforts to bring financial services to people without access to bank accounts are hindered by “the availability of connectivity and power.” He suggested that a CBDC that could be used offline might be a possible solution to this problem.
“What we hope to be able to do – and we’re one of the people pioneering this – is that the e-Cedi would also be capable of being used in an offline environment through some smart cards.” – Mr Kwame Oppong
The Ghana Economic Forum 2021 will be happening between October 18 – 20 2021 with the theme: “Strengthening Home Grown Policies to Underpin the National Digitasation Drive and Shared Financial Prosperity’ and will feature the following guests:
- Keynote Speaker – Nana Akuffo-Addo, President of Ghana
- Dr. Enest Addison – Governor, Bank of Ghana
- Ken Ofori-Atta – Minister of Finance, Ghana
- Alan Kwadwo Kyeremateng – Minister of Trade and Industry
- Abena Poku – Managing Director, Absa Bank, Ghana
- Patience Akyianu – Group CEO, Hollard Ghana
