The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has drawn a clear distinction between religion and financial regulation, saying its role in the rollout of non-interest banking is to supervise financial institutions and products, not regulate religious beliefs.
Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, made the distinction during an engagement with the Ecumenical Society on Non-Interest Banking and Finance at Bank Square in Accra on Monday, as the central bank sought to address concerns within sections of the Christian community over the emerging banking model.
“Some have asked whether the Bank of Ghana is introducing a religion into Ghana’s banking system or supporting one faith over another,” Dr Asiama said.
“These are important questions, and the public is entitled to clarity. The Bank is not a regulator of religion, nor is it introducing a new religious category.”
He said the Bank’s responsibility was instead to establish the regulatory and supervisory framework within which licensed institutions could offer non-interest banking as a commercial financial service.
Parliament, he noted, 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).
The Governor’s comments come amid continued concerns among some Christian groups about whether the introduction of non-interest banking could amount to the promotion of one religious tradition within Ghana’s financial system.
Dr Asiama said those concerns were genuine and warranted direct engagement between the central bank and the country’s religious leadership.
He said the Bank had spent the past year consulting the Christian Council of Ghana, the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the National Association of Charismatic and Christian Churches, selected churches and Christian civil society organisations.
The Bank had also engaged Islamic leadership before bringing representatives of the Christian and Islamic communities together.
According to Dr Asiama, those engagements reinforced the need for a framework and public language that respected Ghana’s religious diversity while making clear that non-interest banking products would be available to all.
The Governor stressed that the products may be structured differently from conventional banking, but remain commercial financial products.
Under the Bank’s guideline, non-interest banking avoids the payment and receipt of interest, excessive uncertainty, gambling and investment in prohibited activities, while encouraging transactions linked to real economic activity and productive assets.
Dr Asiama said the framework was built around fairness, transparency, equity and risk-sharing, principles he said could resonate across different religious and ethical traditions.
“The Bank does not pronounce on religious beliefs; our responsibility is to regulate the institutions and products,” he said.
The distinction also extends to governance of the emerging sector.
Dr Asiama said the Non-Interest Financial Advisory Council (NIFAC), inaugurated on August 18, would provide technical advice to the Bank on the regulation and supervision of non-interest banking institutions.
However, he stressed that the council’s technical role did not replace the Bank’s regulatory, supervisory or enforcement authority, nor did it confer such authority on any religious body.
The Governor said the same regulatory discipline applied to non-interest banking, including oversight of payment systems, transfers of funds, capital sources, leadership and governance.
“No person may carry on non-interest banking business without a Bank of Ghana licence,” he said, adding that non-interest products would remain subject to controls designed to protect depositors and the wider financial system.
Dr Asiama said the central bank’s interest in non-interest banking was driven by its mandate to promote financial-sector development, stability and inclusion rather than religious considerations.
He said the model could broaden access to financial services, increase product diversity, expand consumer choice and mobilise productive investment.
However, the Governor acknowledged that regulatory approval alone would not settle public concerns.
He said the engagement with religious leaders was also an opportunity to identify what remained unclear, which safeguards required better explanation and what concerns persisted.
“Public education cannot be one-way,” Dr Asiama said, urging religious leaders to help the Bank understand how the framework was being received by the wider public.
The Bank of Ghana published an exposure draft of its non-interest banking framework in December 2025 before issuing the final Guideline for the Regulation and Supervision of Non-Interest Banking in January 2026. It has since produced documentaries and frequently asked questions as part of its public education efforts.
Dr Asiama said the continued engagement was necessary to strengthen public confidence while ensuring that those who wish to use non-interest banking products could do so with confidence and those who preferred conventional banking could continue using it.
