The Bank of Ghana has suspended the foreign exchange trading licence of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Ghana for one month from Sept. 18, after the lender breached forex market regulations, it said in a statement on Thursday, September 4.
The regulator said UBA engaged in unauthorised remittance activities with payment service providers including Halges Financial Technologies, Cellulant and Flutterwave, acting on behalf of money transfer operators such as Top Connect, Send App, Taptap Send, Remit Choice and Afriex.
“All partnerships between UBA Ghana and the listed firms have been suspended. Any future collaborations will require fresh approval once the suspension period elapses,” the Bank of Ghana said.
The sanction, issued under section 11(2) of the Foreign Exchange Act of 2006, is the latest move by the regulator to enforce discipline in the country’s $4 billion annual remittances market, a crucial source of foreign exchange.
Ghana for some weeks now has been battling persistent pressure on its cedi currency, and the central bank has tightened monitoring of foreign exchange activities to curb regulatory breaches and stabilise inflows.
The Bank of Ghana cautioned all forex market players to comply strictly with applicable rules and guidelines or risk similar penalties.
