The Chief Executive of the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems, Clara B. Arthur, has underscored the critical role of partnerships and infrastructure in driving Ghana’s digital finance transformation.
Delivering a keynote address at the 2026 3i Africa Summit in Accra, she said Ghana’s progress in digital payments is the result of deliberate collaboration among regulators, financial institutions and fintech players.
The three-day summit has brought together policymakers, central bank governors, fintech leaders and investors to explore how innovation, investment and collaboration can shape Africa’s financial future.
Mrs. Arthur illustrated Ghana’s progress with a simple example from Makola Market, where a trader expressed preference for mobile money without concern for the sender’s platform.
“That expectation is the result of interoperability,” she said, explaining that seamless transactions across banks and mobile wallets reflect years of coordinated effort led by GhIPSS in partnership with industry players and the Bank of Ghana.
She noted that since its establishment in 2007, GhIPSS has led the development of a connected national payments ecosystem, including systems such as gh-link, mobile money interoperability, instant payments and cheque clearing platforms.
According to her, these systems have significantly improved access, reduced transaction costs and strengthened trust in digital financial services across the country.
“As the industry evolves, sustaining this progress will require deeper collaboration and leadership guided by innovation,” she said.
Mrs. Arthur announced that GhIPSS is migrating Ghana’s payment infrastructure to the ISO 20022 global messaging standard to enhance efficiency and enable seamless cross-border transactions.
She added that the organisation is also positioning to work with virtual asset service providers following recent regulatory developments, to support innovation within a structured framework.
Beyond Ghana, she stressed the importance of continental integration, noting that the future of digital finance lies in connecting payment systems across Africa.
“GhIPSS is ready to connect with other instant payment systems across the continent,” she said.
She further called on financial institutions and fintech firms yet to connect to the national switch to come onboard, stressing that shared infrastructure is key to reducing duplication and achieving scale.
Mrs. Arthur concluded that Ghana’s digital finance success story is rooted in leadership and partnership, noting that collaboration remains essential to sustaining growth and delivering real impact.
