Pan-African fintech firm Yellow Card has strongly denied accusations from the Bank of Ghana (BoG) that it is operating unauthorized financial services in the country. In a detailed public rebuttal, the company described the BoG’s claims issued in a June 11, 2025, public notice as “entirely untrue.”
The BoG had cautioned Ghanaians against using “Yellow Pay,” which it alleged was connected to an unapproved collaboration between Yellow Card and HanyPay, aimed at introducing the AKL Lumi digital currency into Ghana’s financial ecosystem.
However, Yellow Card has firmly disassociated itself from the allegations, asserting that it has no operational presence in Ghana and no ties whatsoever to HanyPay or the AKL Lumi initiative.
“Yellow Card takes the integrity of its brand seriously and believes the public is entitled to accurate and truthful information,” the company stated, pushing back against what it calls a fundamental misrepresentation of its business.
Key Clarifications
In its response, Yellow Card highlighted several critical facts:
No Collaboration: “It has never collaborated with HanyPay on any project involving Yellow Pay, its Payments API, or the AKL Lumi currency.”
No Transactions: “Not a single transaction has been conducted between HanyPay and any member of the Yellow Card group.”
False Claims by HanyPay: A February 12 press release by HanyPay announcing integration with Yellow Card was branded “false and unauthorized.”
Proactive Dissociation: On June 5, Yellow Card publicly denied any association with HanyPay a move it says was made at the request of the BoG itself.
Furthermore, the company explained that while its Ghanaian subsidiary was incorporated in 2020 to comply with local regulatory reporting requirements via the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), it has not launched or operated any services in the Ghanaian market.
Disappointment Over Communication Breakdown
Yellow Card expressed disappointment in how the BoG handled the situation, stating that all relevant facts had already been shared with the central bank well before the public advisory was issued.
“It is most unfortunate that the Bank of Ghana determined to publish this notice, as Yellow Card Ghana clearly communicated the above-mentioned facts to representatives of the Bank of Ghana well in advance,” said Craig Stoehr, General Counsel of Yellow Card.
Support for Regulatory Progress
Despite the dispute, Yellow Card reaffirmed its strong support for Ghana’s regulatory ambitions in the digital asset space. The company welcomed the BoG’s Draft Guidelines on Digital Assets, released in August 2024, indicating that formal regulations would likely be implemented by September 2025.
Yellow Card also offered to support the BoG in its regulatory efforts, citing its prior contributions to digital asset policy development in markets like Kenya, Rwanda, Zambia, and Morocco.
“We have informed the Bank of Ghana repeatedly of our willingness to assist and look forward to having the opportunity to do the same in Ghana,” the company noted.
