The World Bank has cautioned Ghana against making a hasty return to the Eurobond market, warning that such a move would signal to international investors that the country is taking the “easy way out.”

According to the Bank, Ghana’s credibility cannot be restored through fresh borrowing but only through strict fiscal discipline, transparency, and politically difficult reforms.

“The new administration should refrain from a hasty return to the Eurobond market, which international investors would interpret as taking the easy way out,” the report stated. “Instead, the government must strengthen fiscal and growth fundamentals and convince the private sector that public debt is on a sustainable path.”

The Bank emphasized that Ghana’s recovery hinges on strict adherence to the Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy and full transparency of the Annual Borrowing Plan. It advised the government to seize the post-election period to roll out tough reforms and rebuild trust with citizens and investors.

Ghana’s economic challenges, the report noted, are not new. Over the past 68 years, the country has entered 17 IMF programmes, spending nearly 40 of those years under active Fund support. The World Bank stressed that the 2022 economic crisis was not caused by COVID-19 or the Russia-Ukraine war, but by years of fiscal indiscipline, excessive borrowing, and weak financial management. Easy access to Eurobonds in the past decade, it said, delayed critical reforms and left the economy vulnerable.

Even after recent debt restructuring and IMF support, the Bank cautioned that Ghana is still not out of danger. “Reestablishing credibility will take time, but the process can start immediately,” it said, urging decisive action to break the country’s recurring cycle of boom and bust.

President John Mahama has already aligned with this stance, saying he does not support a quick return to international capital markets. “We have survived without borrowing from the capital markets. As President, I would not favour a quick return. We must consolidate the economy before seeking external financing,” he said.

The World Bank recommended bold reforms, including enforcing fiscal rules, broadening the tax base, and overhauling state-owned enterprises, especially in the energy and cocoa sectors. Without these steps, it warned, Ghana risks once again being locked out of global markets and trapped in its historical cycle of crisis and bailouts.

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has begun a one-month suspension of the remittance partnerships of five Money Transfer Operators (MTOs) and the Foreign Exchange Trading Licence of United Bank for Africa (UBA Ghana).

The decision, announced in a statement dated September 4, 2025, took effect on Thursday, September 18, 2025. The move forms part of the central bank’s ongoing efforts to sanitize the remittance sector and enforce strict regulatory compliance.

The suspension impacts five MTOs—Taptap Send, Top Connect, Remit Choice, Send App, and Afriex—over their involvement in unauthorised remittance transactions with Payment Service Providers (PSPs) through UBA Ghana as their settlement bank.

According to the BoG, the affected MTOs may only resume operations once their partner PSPs or banks reapply for approval after the suspension period.

UBA Ghana’s one-month suspension follows multiple breaches of foreign exchange market regulations, including violations of the Updated Guidelines for Inward Remittance Services by PSPs (2023), as amended by the Bank of Ghana.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lauded the central bank’s latest enforcement measures, describing them as an important step toward reinforcing the cedi’s role as the sole legal tender while enhancing transparency and stability in Ghana’s foreign exchange market.

Mobile money transactions in Ghana reached GH¢354.1 billion in August 2025, according to the Bank of Ghana’s latest Summary of Economic and Financial Data.

Although slightly below the GH¢355.4 billion recorded in July, the figure highlights the continued dominance of mobile payments in the country’s financial landscape.

The central bank’s data showed that transaction volumes grew to 831 million in August, up from 778 million in July. Registered mobile money accounts climbed to 77.7 million, with 25.1 million active users.

The number of registered agents rose to 938,000, with 433,000 actively operating. Analysts note that this expansion in both usage and activity reflects rising confidence in digital financial services as a reliable tool for payments, remittances, and business transactions.

Mobile money interoperability also advanced, with cross-network transactions totaling GH¢4.9 billion from 26.4 million transfers in August.

Despite ongoing economic challenges such as currency volatility and fiscal pressures, the Bank of Ghana emphasized that mobile money is deepening financial inclusion, creating employment, boosting tax collection, and reducing risks linked to cash transactions.

Additionally, mobile lending platforms tied to mobile money are widening access to credit, strengthening its role as the backbone of Ghana’s digital financial ecosystem and accelerating the shift toward a cash-lite economy.