GhIPSS pushes ISO overhaul as Africa payment systems eye cross-border integration
Ghana’s national payments infrastructure provider has called for accelerated integration of African financial systems and adoption of global messaging standards, as the continent’s digital finance sector moves beyond domestic interoperability toward cross-border connectivity.
Speaking at the 3i Africa Summit in Accra, Clara B. Arthur, Chief Executive of the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS), said Africa’s digital finance progress must now be anchored on deeper infrastructure collaboration and regional alignment.
She said Ghana’s payments transformation had already demonstrated the power of interoperability, citing everyday consumer behaviour as evidence of its success.
A market trader in Makola, she noted, no longer distinguishes between banks or mobile wallets when receiving payments an outcome she described as the practical result of system-wide connectivity.
From national rails to regional networks
Arthur said GhIPSS, established by the Bank of Ghana in 2007, has built a core national payments infrastructure that includes the gh-link switch, Ghana’s instant payment system, domestic card scheme, cheque clearing platform, and direct credit and debit systems.
These systems, she said, have helped reduce transaction costs and improve efficiency across Ghana’s financial ecosystem by linking banks, fintechs, mobile money operators and other service providers.
However, she argued that the next phase of growth requires expanding beyond national systems into regional and global interoperability.
ISO 20022 migration at the centre of reform
A key pillar of GhIPSS’s strategy is the migration of Ghana’s payment infrastructure to the ISO 20022 global messaging standard, a move Arthur described as a “strategic repositioning for the future”.
She said the upgrade would allow Ghana’s financial systems to align with leading global markets, enabling richer data exchange, faster settlement processes, and smoother cross-border transactions.
GhIPSS is also strengthening its domestic card scheme through partnerships with regional and international payment networks.
Opening infrastructure to virtual assets and fintechs
Arthur said the passage of Ghana’s Virtual Asset Service Providers legislation creates space for collaboration with digital asset operators, with GhIPSS positioned to provide shared infrastructure that supports innovation within a regulated framework.
She added that the goal is to ensure new financial technologies grow without undermining systemic stability.
Call for pan-African payment interoperability
Beyond Ghana, Arthur called for stronger cooperation between African instant payment systems, arguing that fragmented national platforms must evolve into interconnected regional networks.
“The future of digital finance lies in cross-border interoperability,” she said.
Infrastructure as a public utility layer
Arthur emphasised that GhIPSS functions as an enabling infrastructure provider rather than a market competitor, offering the “rails” on which financial institutions and fintechs build services.
She urged unconnected institutions to join the national switch, arguing that shared infrastructure reduces duplication, lowers costs and improves scalability across the ecosystem.
