- Non-Interest Banking Will Widen Financial Access Without Replacing Conventional Banks – Dr Asiama
The Bank of Ghana has moved to address growing concerns within sections of the Christian community over the introduction of non-interest banking, insisting that the framework is a commercial and regulatory initiative rather than an attempt to introduce religion into Ghana’s financial system.
Governor Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama said the central bank’s objective is to provide a regulatory structure within which licensed institutions can offer non-interest financial products as a complement to conventional banking, not as a replacement for it.
Speaking at an engagement with the Ecumenical Society at Bank Square in Accra on August 31, Dr Asiama said the Bank recognised that non-interest banking had generated genuine concern among some Christian groups and that greater public education remained necessary.
“Some have asked whether the Bank of Ghana is introducing a religion into Ghana’s banking system or supporting one faith over another,” he said.
“These are important questions, and the public is entitled to clarity.”
The Governor stressed that Parliament had already recognised non-interest banking as a permissible banking activity under section 18(1)(r) of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016, Act 930.
“Our role is to provide the regulatory and supervisory framework within which licensed institutions may offer this inclusive and non-discriminatory model of commercial banking as a complement to conventional banking, not a replacement for it,” he said.
The clarification is important because debate around non-interest banking in Ghana has often become intertwined with questions of religion, particularly because similar models are widely associated internationally with Islamic finance.
The Bank of Ghana is attempting to draw a firm distinction between the religious origins of some non-interest financing principles and the regulatory framework under which such products would operate in Ghana.
The central bank said the system will remain open to all customers irrespective of religious affiliation.
Dr Asiama said the BoG had spent the past year consulting extensively with Christian and Islamic groups in an effort to build greater understanding around the framework.
The Bank has engaged the Christian Council of Ghana, Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, National Association of Charismatic and Christian Churches, selected churches and Christian civil-society organisations.
It has also consulted Islamic leadership and subsequently brought ecumenical and Islamic leaders together as part of the process.
According to the Governor, those engagements reinforced the need for language and regulation that respect Ghana’s religious diversity while making clear that the financial products are available to everyone. The Bank published an exposure draft of its framework on December 9, 2025 and invited public comments.
Following feedback, the final Guideline for the Regulation and Supervision of Non-Interest Banking in Ghana was published on January 13, 2026. The BoG has since produced documentaries and two sets of frequently asked questions covering the guideline and its governance structure.
The economic rationale behind the policy is financial inclusion and product diversity.
Dr Asiama said the Bank’s interest in non-interest banking is grounded in its broader mandate to promote financial-sector development, stability and inclusion.
Non-interest banking, as defined by the framework, involves financial intermediation that avoids the payment and receipt of interest, excessive uncertainty, gambling and investment in prohibited activities.
Instead, transactions are structured around real economic activity, productive assets, fairness, transparency, equity and risk-sharing.
That potentially opens another financing channel for individuals and businesses that either prefer non-interest products or have historically remained outside conventional banking.
The policy could therefore have implications for financial inclusion, SME financing and investment mobilisation if institutions are able to structure commercially viable products around those principles.
But the success of the model will depend heavily on regulation and public confidence. The Governor stressed that non-interest institutions will remain subject to the same regulatory discipline applied across Ghana’s banking system.
That includes oversight of payment systems, transfer of funds, capital sources, governance and leadership.
“No person may carry on non-interest banking business without a Bank of Ghana licence,” he said.
The products will also remain fully subject to controls intended to protect depositors and the wider financial system. That regulatory point is particularly important because the introduction of a new class of financial products can create uncertainty among consumers over whether different rules apply.
The BoG’s position is that the underlying commercial structures may differ, but prudential oversight will not.
On August 18, the Bank inaugurated the Non-Interest Financial Advisory Council, or NIFAC, to advise it on the effective regulation and supervision of non-interest banking institutions.
The council may also support the Securities and Exchange Commission and National Insurance Commission as the broader non-interest financial ecosystem develops, helping to promote regulatory consistency across banking, capital markets and insurance.
NIFAC consists of five members and is required to include at least one independent member and at least one woman.
Dr Asiama stressed, however, that the council has an advisory rather than regulatory role.
Its technical advice does not replace the Bank of Ghana’s supervisory, enforcement or regulatory authority, nor does it transfer such authority to any religious body.
That distinction is likely to be central to the Bank’s effort to reassure groups concerned that religious institutions or theological authorities could gain influence over financial regulation.
For the BoG, the framework represents an effort to expand consumer choice without altering the secular regulatory foundation of Ghana’s financial system.
Customers who wish to use non-interest banking products may do so, while those who prefer conventional banking will continue to operate as before.
The policy therefore creates an additional financial channel rather than replacing the existing one.
The larger economic question will be whether the framework attracts genuinely new capital and customers or simply redistributes existing banking activity across different products. If non-interest finance can draw previously excluded households and businesses into formal financial services, the inclusion effect could be significant.
It could also create alternative mechanisms for funding productive assets and investments where financing is structured around shared risk and underlying economic activity.
But if public understanding remains weak, suspicion around terminology and governance could slow adoption.
That explains why the Bank is treating engagement with religious leaders as part of implementation rather than an issue to be addressed after products reach the market.
Dr Asiama acknowledged that communication must improve where the public still has unanswered questions.
NIFAC, he said, marks the shift from policy design to implementation, but public education “cannot be one-way”.
The Bank wants religious leaders and other stakeholders to identify areas where safeguards are not sufficiently understood and where greater clarity is required.
The debate therefore has implications beyond religion. It raises a broader question about how Ghana introduces new financial products in a society where regulatory innovation can quickly intersect with cultural and religious concerns.
The central bank’s answer is consultation, transparency and a clear separation between commercial regulation and religious belief.
Dr Asiama said properly implemented non-interest banking could complement conventional banking, widen access to finance, mobilise productive investment and contribute to socio-economic development through a more inclusive and diversified financial system.
The test will be whether the Bank can convince the public that non-interest banking is not a religious project, maintain rigorous prudential oversight and demonstrate that the framework delivers genuine economic value. If it succeeds, Ghana could expand financial choice without fragmenting its banking system along religious lines.
If public suspicion persists, however, the challenge may prove less financial than institutional: building enough trust for a new model of banking to be accepted on commercial rather than religious terms.
