Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has announced the government’s agenda to introduce the E-Cedi, highlighting its potential to combat money laundering and corruption.
The E-Cedi, a digital equivalent of the local currency, was initially conceptualised by the Bank of Ghana (BOG) in 2021.
Despite completing a trial phase, the official launch of the E-Cedi was delayed due to economic disruptions.
Addressing the 14th Commonwealth Regional Conference for Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Africa in Accra, Dr Bawumia underscored the significance of leveraging digital technologies in the fight against corruption.
“We are also using digital technology to track money and suspicious activity, and we are working very closely with the central bank, and they are piloting to introduce a central bank digital currency (CBDC), which we call the E-Cedi.
“And with the successful piloting of the E-Cedi, which is essentially a digital version of our currency with appropriate privacy protections.
With that successful pilot, it will be the ultimate weapon in our fight against corruption.”
“The CBDC will be the ultimate weapon because the E-Cedi will make it easy to track the movement of money and identify suspicious activity. It will provide us with high-level transparency, reduce the risk of fraud, and reduce the level of tax avoidance and money laundering,” he stated.
Additionally, Dr. Bawumia outlined the government’s initiatives to safeguard financial integrity by implementing the National Identification System.
According to currency and financial analysts, introducing the electronic version of the E-Cedi will help bridge the gap between the banked and unbanked in the country.
The E-Cedi would have products and services that would make that happen.
Since 2019 when Libra (a digital currency backed by Facebook) was unveiled, there has been a deliberate effort by several central banks to explore the option of digital currency, commonly known as the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
In June 2021, the Bank of Ghana announced the development of its CBDC, the E-Cedi. The pilot stage of the E-Cedi began in September 2021.
In a speech that was read on his behalf at the opening of a regional course on Currency Management and Forecasting organised by the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), Dr Addison said the E-cedi would help increase cross-border trade, accelerate financial inclusion, and offer cheaper and faster remittance inflows.
He said it would also help with targeted social interventions and improvements in monetary policy effectiveness, payment systems efficiency, and tax collection.
“The E-Cedi will serve as both a medium of exchange and a store of value, offering better payment prospects in retail transactions when compared to cash payments,” he stated.