The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has suspended the remittance partnerships of Flutterwave Inc. and Cellulant Ghana Limited for one month and barred Halges Financial Technologies Limited from the market indefinitely, in a regulatory crackdown that underscores rising scrutiny of fintech operators in Ghana’s remittance industry.
The sanctions, effective September 18, 2025, follow findings that the firms conducted unauthorised remittance services for money transfer operators (MTOs) including Top Connect, Send App, Taptap Send, Remit Choice and Afriex, using United Bank for Africa Ghana Limited (UBA) as a settlement bank.
“All remittance partnerships between these PSPs and MTOs are hereby suspended,” the central bank said, adding that future engagements will require fresh approval.
The action, under the Updated Guidelines for Inward Remittance Services (2023) and Notice No. BG/GOV/SEC/2025/25, points to multiple breaches of sections 5 and 7.1–7.3, which govern licensing, settlement, and due diligence obligations for payment service providers (PSPs).
For Flutterwave, Africa’s highest-valued fintech unicorn with a valuation of about US$3 billion, the penalty comes as it battles reputational risks across multiple jurisdictions, including Nigeria and Kenya. Repeated regulatory run-ins could weigh on its growth ambitions and dent investor confidence in Ghana’s fintech sector more broadly.
Early this year, financial analyst and banking consultant, Dr. Richmond Atuahene, called for stricter enforcement and regulation of the financial technology companies (fintechs) and Money Transfer Operators (MTOs) operating in the country’s remittances sector.
Meanwhile, Ghana relies heavily on a critical foreign exchange inflow. However, data from the Bank of Ghana and the World Bank revealed that the country lost huge foreign exchange from inward remittances worth at least US$10.6 billion. While the World Bank reports $22.23 billion from 2019 to 2023, the Bank of Ghana was able to capture only $9.78 billion within the period.
With the cedi facing persistent pressure, tighter oversight of remittance channels signals the regulator’s determination to safeguard compliance, transparency, and stability in the financial system. The BoG warned that non-compliance with remittance and foreign exchange rules will attract “further regulatory sanctions in accordance with the law.”
