- Governor Says Banks Lack Dedicated Diaspora Investment Products as Remittance Strategy Takes Shape
The Bank of Ghana is pressing commercial banks to move beyond treating the diaspora principally as a source of remittances and begin developing financial products capable of converting a greater share of those inflows into long-term savings and investment.
Speaking at the Heads of Banks Meeting on Wednesday, August 12, Governor Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama said a recent central-bank survey found that banks generally lacked dedicated, off-the-shelf investment products designed specifically for Ghanaians living abroad.
“The findings broadly indicate that banks currently do not have dedicated off-the-shelf investment products, products specifically designed to meet the needs of the Ghanaian diaspora,” Dr Asiama said.
“As a result, remittances continue to flow largely through basic transfer channels rather than being channeled into structured savings products, bonds, or other investment vehicles.”
The finding exposes a significant weakness in Ghana’s financial intermediation system. Remittances already provide foreign exchange and support household consumption, education, healthcare, housing and small businesses, but their wider development impact is reduced when most of the money enters the economy only as a transfer and is quickly spent.
The central bank now wants commercial banks to see diaspora customers not simply as senders of money but as potential long-term investors.
“I want to urge banks to take advantage of the significant potential within the remittance space by broadening their offerings beyond traditional transfer services to include bank-led investment products, mobile money solutions, and digital remittance platforms,” Dr Asiama said.
“This presents an opportunity to deepen financial intermediation and mobilize diaspora funds for productive investment in the Ghanaian economy.”
The policy shift matters because Ghana is still rebuilding its financial buffers after the sovereign debt crisis and restructuring. Policymakers are seeking deeper domestic capital markets, stronger foreign-exchange reserves and more stable funding sources that are less vulnerable to sudden reversals in international investor sentiment.
Diaspora capital could help on all three fronts.
Unlike some portfolio inflows, remittances are typically rooted in family and social relationships and can therefore prove more persistent through economic cycles. Turning even a modest share of those flows into longer-term savings and investment could create a more stable pool of capital for housing, infrastructure, businesses and financial markets.
The external environment is already more supportive. Ghana’s trade surplus widened to US$8.80 billion in the first half of 2026 from US$5.80 billion a year earlier, while the current-account surplus increased to US$5.10 billion from US$4.10 billion.
Gross international reserves reached about US$12.90 billion at the end of June, equivalent to five months of import cover, while relative cedi stability has helped inflation decline to 4.60% in July.
A stronger framework for retaining diaspora funds within Ghana’s financial system could reinforce those buffers. But the bigger prize would be converting part of the country’s remittance flows from consumption finance into capital formation.
The Bank of Ghana is therefore proposing a coordinated national approach rather than leaving product development entirely to individual institutions.
“The Bank of Ghana remains committed to working with relevant stakeholders to develop a national remittance strategy, a strategy that’s aimed at enhancing remittance flows into the economy and ensuring that a greater proportion of these inflows are channeled towards savings, investment, and broader economic development,” Dr Asiama said.
For banks, the opportunity extends well beyond deposits. Diaspora-focused products could include foreign-currency savings vehicles, investment funds, mortgage products, pension instruments, government and corporate securities and digitally accessible investment accounts designed for customers who may rarely visit Ghana physically.
The challenge will be credibility.
Diaspora investors are not a captive pool of capital. They can compare Ghanaian financial products with investment opportunities in the countries where they live, meaning banks will have to compete on returns, transparency, ease of access and confidence in the financial system.
Digital accessibility will be especially important. A Ghanaian living in London, Toronto, New York or Frankfurt should be able to open, fund and monitor an investment without depending on repeated physical visits or cumbersome paperwork.
Foreign-exchange arrangements will also matter. Investors will want clarity over whether products are denominated in cedis or foreign currency, how funds can be repatriated and what exchange-rate risk they are assuming.
Without those assurances, the diaspora may continue to prefer traditional remittance channels, property purchases or investments outside Ghana.
The central bank’s intervention comes as the domestic banking industry itself strengthens. Total sector assets increased by 30.70% in June 2026, while the capital adequacy ratio improved to 20.40% from 10.60% a year earlier.
Asset quality also improved, with the non-performing loan ratio declining to 16.10% from 23.10%, while private-sector credit expanded by 41.20% compared with 8.60% a year earlier.
These stronger balance sheets give banks greater scope to innovate. The question is whether they will use that improved capacity to develop products that deepen long-term financial intermediation rather than continuing to focus principally on transfer fees and conventional deposits.
The diaspora opportunity also intersects with Ghana’s broader investment needs. If structured properly, remittance-linked capital could provide funding for SMEs, housing, agriculture, infrastructure and other productive activities while giving diaspora investors transparent claims on those assets.
But design will matter. Products marketed to diaspora investors must not become merely another means of mobilising money without clear governance, disclosure and investor protection.
The central bank simultaneously used the Heads of Banks Meeting to caution lenders about risks within Ghana’s expanding digital financial ecosystem. Dr Asiama said regulators had identified entities providing digital credit without the required approval and that enforcement action was being taken against non-compliant operators.
“Banks are encouraged to exercise heightened due diligence when engaging digital credit service providers and should verify the licensing status of such entities with the Bank of Ghana before establishing any partnership or business relationship,” he said.
That warning captures the balancing act facing the central bank. Ghana wants faster financial innovation, deeper investment markets and more efficient digital channels, but those gains must not come at the expense of financial stability or consumer protection.
For the diaspora strategy, the underlying capital already exists. Ghanaians abroad are already sending money home in large volumes.
What is missing, according to the Bank of Ghana, is the financial architecture that gives them compelling reasons to keep more of that money invested in Ghana.
If banks build credible, transparent and accessible products, remittances could evolve from predominantly household transfers into a deeper source of long-term capital.
If they do not, Ghana may continue receiving substantial foreign exchange from its diaspora without fully capturing the investment potential embedded in those flows.
