BoG conducts cross-border transactions with eCash

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has announced the successful payment of cross-border trade transactions using the digital currency, eCedi.

Announcing this in Accra on Wednesday as part of the 2024 3i Africa Summit, the central bank’s director of fintech and innovation, Kwame Oppong, said the transactions executed in April this year were carried out using Singapore’s stablecoin. said. Digital Economy Semi-Fungible Token (DESFT) Project.

He explained that eCedi is an electronic version of Ghana’s currency, with one digital currency equivalent to one cedi, and is currently being piloted ahead of its nationwide rollout.

Oppong said eCedi was formed as part of the government’s efforts to facilitate domestic and cross-border trade and payments.

Mr Oppong said the live eCedi transactions were conducted through the proposed Ghanaian Domestic Retail Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) platform.

The Director of Fintech and Innovation explained that payments for cross-border trade transactions confirmed the potential for eCedi to work with various cross-border authentication and payment platforms.

“With its interoperability with the DESFT system and verifiable credentials through Universal Trusted Credentials, eCedi has the potential to cost-effectively facilitate the participation of Ghanaian MSMEs in international trade. ” he said.

According to Oppong, the upcoming implementation of eCedi will significantly strengthen Ghana’s dynamic payments ecosystem, fostering inclusive growth and innovation while improving the consumer experience.

The Director-General of FinTech explained the background of the project, stating that the central bank will launch the DESFT project in June 2023 in collaboration with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the first phase of the project will involve the design and development of a trusted authentication system. He said that he was injured.

He said the DESFT project will enable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa to improve their international reach by removing critical obstacles faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa, such as establishing trust with foreign trading partners and obtaining cross-border payments and supply support. He explained that the aim is to help people engage in trade. chain finance.

This allows small and medium-sized businesses to transform critical information such as basic credentials, licenses, certificates, and transaction records into digital credentials that can be verified on a secure distributed ledger system, allowing potential trade It will enable counterparties and financial institutions to efficiently verify the authenticity of such information, Oppong said.

The three-day 3i conference, titled “Innovation, Investment and Impact,” which concluded on Wednesday, was hosted by Elebandi, a subsidiary of the Bank of Ghana, the Development Bank of Ghana and the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the theme was “Fintech in Africa. It was the liberation of and the potential of the digital economy. ”

The meeting was attended by heads of state, ministers, central bank governors, members of the diplomatic corps, heads of the private sector and industry, and people from all walks of life.

Written by Kingsley Asare

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