Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia thinks it is high time Ghana and the rest of Africa embrace the advent of crypto-currency to facilitate trade and enhance the productive sectors of their economies.

Crypto-currency (or crypto) is digital currency that can be used to buy goods and services, but uses an online ledger with strong cryptography to secure online transactions.

Much of the interest in these unregulated currencies is to trade for profit, with speculators at times driving prices skyward.

Dr. Bawumia has therefore commended the Bank of Ghana’s decision to pilot digital currency later this year towards its nationwide roll-out in the near future.

He believes this would give it the needed credibility and legal backing for usage.

Addressing participants at the opening ceremony of the fifth Ghana International Trade and Finance Conference (GITFiC) in Accra on Tuesday, the Vice President said intra-African trade had created the need to establish a single central payment platform on the African continent where financial system operators could carry out all cross-border payments smoothly.

He, therefore, stressed the belief that the Pan African Payment and Settlement System(PAPSS), a central payment and collection infrastructure, would allow businesses on the continent to clear and settle transactions in their local currencies without depending on third-party currencies.

Apart from that, he said it would also provide an alternative to the current high-cost and long correspondent banking relationships by facilitating trade and other economic activities across the continent through a single, low-cost and risk-controlled payment clearing and settlement system.

The event brought together Governors of the Central Banks in Africa, captains of industry, chief executives of financial institutions and the diplomatic community to share ideas and engage in conversations that would create a conducive environment for boosting economic activities and engender growth.

It was held on the theme: “Facilitating Trade and Trade-Finance in AfCFTA: The Role of the Financial Services Sector.”

Dr. Bawumia said digitisation had become one of the most consequential policies of President Akufo-Addo’s government and pivotal towards increasing economic activities, macroeconomic stability and growth.

“Concurrently, digitisation has also become one of the most consequential policies of the Nana Akufo-Addo government. When the scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic hit and forced many economies into partial and total lockdowns, it reinforced the need to pursue digitisation,” Dr. Bawumia emphasised.

That, he said, was the reason why mobile banking was proving to be a more convenient alternative to traditional banking channels as several routine banking and money transactions were now executed through mobile phones and electronic payment systems.

“The implementation of Mobile Money Interoperability in Ghana has shown that more people can be financially included, and this needs to be rolled out across Africa to ensure the growth of the AfCFTA vision,” he added.

To leverage digital technologies and digitised data, he said, the central bank had rolled out a couple of systems through its Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GHIPSS).

They include the e-Zwich, Gh-Link, Mobile Money Interoperability, and QR Code, all aimed at ensuring that the underlying payment system runs smoothly.

“I encourage the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), a partner entity in this conference, to help its members build a solid and resilient productive capacity to benefit from the AfCFTA implementation,” he indicated.

That, he said, would complement the government’s effort in providing both the required leadership and investments in implementing the continental trade protocols and related action plans.

DGN