The Bank of Ghana is developing a comprehensive directive to regulate the use of artificial intelligence in the financial sector, as the central bank moves to promote innovation while addressing emerging risks associated with the rapidly evolving technology.
Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, announced the proposed directive at the 43rd Annual General Meeting of the Ghana Association of Banks in Accra on October 8, 2026, held under the theme “From stability to transformation: Building a resilient, inclusive and sustainable banking industry.”
The Governor said AI holds transformative potential for the financial services industry, particularly in improving credit assessment, fraud detection, customer service, risk management and operational efficiency. However, he cautioned that the technology also introduces significant risks relating to data quality, model risk, cybersecurity and consumer protection.
“Our approach will seek to promote responsible experimentation and innovation while ensuring appropriate governance throughout the AI lifecycle,” Dr. Asiama said.
Ghana Joins Continental Regulatory Wave
The move positions Ghana alongside a growing number of African jurisdictions moving to govern AI in financial services. At least 16 African countries have introduced national AI strategies, while major economies including Nigeria, Angola, Morocco and Namibia are moving towards enforceable AI laws. Kenya’s Central Bank recently issued a Draft Guidance Note on Artificial Intelligence in the Banking Sector, providing a framework for responsible adoption, while the Central Bank of Nigeria is preparing data localisation requirements taking effect from January 2027.
A 2026 study on AI and financial-sector supervision in Africa, which examined regulatory arrangements in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa, found that AI could strengthen fraud detection, risk-based supervision, early-warning systems and consumer monitoring, but cautioned that poor data quality, algorithmic bias, limited explainability and skills shortages constrain responsible adoption. The study noted that while Ghana has important digital-finance and cybersecurity foundations, it has had limited publicly documented AI-enabled supervisory applications — a gap the new directive seeks to address.
AI Adoption Already Underway in Ghana’s Financial Sector
The directive comes as AI adoption accelerates across Ghana’s financial services landscape. Several financial service providers and fintech firms, including digital lender Fido Credit, have already embraced AI and machine learning tools for document validation, fraud detection, vision-based Know Your Customer (KYC) tools and financial forecasting.
These AI-driven tools are enabling lenders to serve a broader range of customers, including traditionally underserved microenterprises that lack formal credit histories or collateral. By drawing on alternative data such as mobile money transaction patterns and business location data, AI-powered credit scoring models are providing fairer evaluations and expanding access to finance.
The UN Capital Development Fund is actively exploring how AI can bridge longstanding gaps in access, affordability and trust for micro, small and medium enterprises in Ghana, recognising that MSMEs form the backbone of both rural and urban economies yet face persistent barriers to financial inclusion.
Institutional Foundations Strengthened
The Bank of Ghana has been building its own institutional capacity to oversee the digital transformation. In May 2026, the central bank established specialised departments for artificial intelligence, data analytics and virtual assets to strengthen oversight of Ghana’s evolving financial sector.
“We noticed that there was little going on by way of artificial intelligence, data analytics and what have you, and so we decided to set up a department quickly to learn,” Dr. Asiama said at the ACI Financial Markets World Congress in Accra. He also disclosed that the central bank was considering a dedicated regulatory framework specifically for fintech companies to improve supervision and allow specialised oversight.
The Bank of Ghana’s regulatory sandbox programme, which admitted six fintech firms in January 2026 to pilot virtual asset frameworks, forms part of these broader efforts to support innovation while strengthening oversight of emerging digital financial services.
Revised Cyber Directive Provides Foundation
The proposed AI directive builds on the foundation laid by the revised Cyber and Information Security Directive (CISD) 2026, launched in March 2026, which already includes governance frameworks for artificial intelligence and machine learning systems used in fraud detection and credit scoring.
The CISD 2026 replaced the 2018 framework and expanded regulatory coverage beyond universal banks to include savings and loans companies, microfinance institutions, fintechs and other financial sector players. It introduced key pillars including strong governance structures, AI and machine learning governance, cloud computing security and a proportionality framework that ensures regulatory requirements are calibrated to an institution’s size and risk profile.
On cloud computing, the Governor clarified that the directive does not endorse wholesale migration of core systems or sensitive data to the cloud, invoking the Cybersecurity Act 2020 and the Data Protection Act 2012 to ensure that only non-sensitive front-end services may be hosted in the cloud. At the board level, at least one board member of every regulated institution must possess verifiable expertise in cyber risk management, ensuring that security decisions are made where strategic choices are taken.
Banking Sector Recovery Provides Tailwind
The AI directive is being introduced against a backdrop of significant recovery in Ghana’s banking sector. Total banking sector assets increased by 20.5 per cent to GH¢500.2 billion as of August 2026, from GH¢415 billion a year earlier. The sector’s capital adequacy ratio improved from 18.3 per cent to 19.1 per cent, above the 13 per cent regulatory minimum, while the non-performing loan ratio declined from 20.7 per cent in August 2025 to 15.7 per cent in August 2026.
All 23 banks have met regulatory capital requirements following the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme crisis — a significant achievement that Dr. Asiama described as demonstrative of the sector’s emergence from recent challenges.
Yet the Governor cautioned against complacency, noting that significant residual risks remain within the financial system. He stressed that the gains must translate into stronger risk management, sustainable business models and greater support for productive economic activities, announcing that the Bank of Ghana would conduct a second round of business model analysis in 2027.
Cybersecurity as Core Business Risk
Dr. Asiama also urged bank boards and senior management to treat cybersecurity and operational resilience as core business risks rather than merely technology issues. He said regulatory and supervisory frameworks must continue to evolve in response to technological change and increasingly interconnected financial risks.
The Bank of Ghana intends to undertake thematic reviews focusing on the implementation of the revised Cyber and Information Security Directive to ensure that institutions are not merely compliant on paper but actively resilient in practice.
Dr. Asiama called on banks to build strong risk-management cultures and sustainable business models to ensure that innovation supports the development of a resilient financial sector.
A Balanced Approach to Innovation
The Governor’s announcement reflects a carefully calibrated approach. As he noted at the ACI Financial Markets World Congress in May 2026, “Ghana cannot afford to be a passive observer” in the digital finance revolution, while also warning that technologies like AI can enhance supervision and improve risk detection but must be deployed within appropriate regulatory guardrails.
The proposed AI directive, once finalised, will form part of the Bank of Ghana’s broader efforts to strengthen regulatory and supervisory frameworks as digitalisation transforms financial services, ensuring that innovation and consumer protection advance together in one of West Africa’s most dynamic financial markets.
