Taking Stock of Policies, Regulations, and Initiatives That Leverage Technology to Build Trust: Lessons from Ghana’s Financial Sector

Abstract

Technological innovations that increase trust in the financial sector can drive financial growth. Using Ghana as a case study, this study reviewed technology-focused policies, strategy documents, and peer-reviewed literature to assess how financial technology is being utilized to build trust in financial institutions. The literature search revealed that two categories of technological applications are being used to build trust: payment platforms and trade and investment technologies. The findings showed that Ghana has adopted wide-ranging initiatives to build trust—for example, the National Digital Property Addressing System, the Re-registration of SIM Cards, and the passage of the Data Protection Act (Act 843 of 2012). We also identified key challenges associated with leveraging technologies in the sector. Valuable for financial institutions, academics, practitioners, and other financial-sector actors, the insights from this study could enhance policy formulation and implementation across other jurisdictions.

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Global Social Welfare
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40609-022-00260-9
Taking Stock ofPolicies, Regulations, andInitiatives That Leverage
Technology toBuild Trust: Lessons fromGhana’s Financial Sector
CharlesOfori‑Acquah1· ChristineAvortri1· AlexanderPreko2
Accepted: 1 December 2022
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022
Abstract
Technological innovations that increase trust in the financial sector can drive financial growth. Using Ghana as a case study,
this study reviewed technology-focused policies, strategy documents, and peer-reviewed literature to assess how financial
technology is being utilized to build trust in financial institutions. The literature search revealed that two categories of
technological applications are being used to build trust: payment platforms and trade and investment technologies. The
findings showed that Ghana has adopted wide-ranging initiatives to build trust—for example, the National Digital Property
Addressing System, the Re-registration of SIM Cards, and the passage of the Data Protection Act (Act 843 of 2012). We
also identified key challenges associated with leveraging technologies in the sector. Valuable for financial institutions, aca-
demics, practitioners, and other financial-sector actors, the insights from this study could enhance policy formulation and
implementation across other jurisdictions.
Keywords Fintech· Trust· Policy· Financial Inclusion· Mobile Money· Ghana
Introduction
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, global accept-
ance of digital money has grown tremendously (Awanis
etal., 2022). Financial technologies, such as mobile money,
have kept people financially connected. They have deliv-
ered vital financial support and provided safe ways to pay
for food and other life essentials without physical contact.
More than USD 2 billion are transacted daily via mobile
accounts globally, suggesting that mobile money has become
a part of a new daily routine for millions worldwide (Global
System for Mobile Communications Association [GSMA],
2021). The global financial sector spent $127.66 billion
on digital finance in 2018, and the number is expected to
rise to $309.98 billion by the end of 2022. The increase is
partly due to the purchase and support of financial technol-
ogy (TechMagic, 2022). In sub-Saharan Africa, the finan-
cial sector’s technological investments have concentrated on
Internet banking (Egala etal., 2021; Kwateng etal., 2020),
mobile banking (Adjei etal., 2020; Kwateng etal., 2019),
cloud computing (Adjei, 2015), and mobile money applica-
tions (Amoah etal., 2020).
Notwithstanding these substantial investments in finan-
cial technologies, cybercrime and mobile-money fraud are
among several challenges that make it difficult for customers
to trust the financial sector. For instance, according to the
Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, the reported cases
of mobile money-related fraud rose from 278 in 2015 to over
4000 in 2021 (Ifeanyi-Ajufo, 2017). These manace of cybre
fraud, if not addressed, will deeppened challenge of trust in
the financial sector and invariably stifle efforts to promote
financial inclusion for all.
Trust is a basis on which individuals make economic
decisions and act on recommendations within the digital
business space (Bianchi & Andrews, 2012). Therefore, lim-
iting threats to trust real threats and perceived ones is essen-
tial for a sector working to foster customer commitment (So
etal., 2014). Accordingly, there is a push for an ongoing
investigation of trust building in the emerging digital finance
space (Devlin etal., 2015; Osakwe etal., 2022).
* Christine Avortri
christine.avortri@cibgh.org
Charles Ofori-Acquah
charles.ofori-acquah@cibgh.org
Alexander Preko
alexander.preko@upsamail.edu.gh
1 Chartered Institute ofBankers, Accra, Ghana
2 Department ofMarketing, University ofProfessional Studies,
P. O. Box LG 149 Legon, AccraAccra, Ghana

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Research has acknowledged the importance of technolo-
gies for building trust across various industries, including
financial services (Bugandwa etal., 2021; Van der Cruijsen
etal., 2021; Gyamfi, 2019; Kosiba etal., 2020; Hansen,
2017). Although technological advancements may boost
customer trust in financial services, products, and systems,
linkage warrants a deeper investigation, particularly an
examination of the roles for policy and regulatory activity
in building trust.
The literature is marked by a gap in evidence, as most
studies have avoided synthesizing state policy documents
and the empirical literature on how the financial sector uses
or could use technologies to build the trust of financial ser-
vice consumers. Using Ghana as a case study, the current
study seeks to help fill this gap by addressing three specific
research questions:
1. How have financial institutions linked technology to
trust building to promote financial services?
2. What initiatives, strategies, and policy innovations have
been effective in leveraging technology to build trust in
digital financial services delivery?
3. What key challenges hinder growth of trust in digital
financial services within Ghana?
These inquiries could contribute to the limited body of
knowledge on how policies, regulations, and special initia-
tives leverage technological innovations to increase con-
sumer trust in the financial services industry. Such insights
could inform how other jurisdictions pursue a long-term
agenda to leverage technology in their financial sector’s
expansion.
The choice of Ghana as a case study is predicated on
emerging evidence that the country has a dynamic finan-
cial sector and one of sub-Saharan Africa’s most devel-
oped mobile-money markets (GSMA, 2021; Awanis etal.,
2022). Ghana’s financial sector has seen dramatic tech-
nological advancement over the last decade. It is one of
the first countries to launch a universal quick response
(QR) code system that enables instant payments for any
financial transaction from individuals’ mobile-money wal-
lets, bank accounts, or international cards (Ghana Talk
Business, 2020). Moreover, the country’s financial sector
remains an engine for its economy, with banks’ domestic
credit to the private sector rising to nearly 11% of the
nation’s gross domestic product in 2020 (World Bank
Group, 2020).
The paper is organized in three sections. The “Introduc-
tion” section presents the topic of investigation, discusses
the definitional nuances, and wraps up with an historical
overview of digital financing in Ghana. In the “Methodol-
ogy” section, we explain the methods employed in the study.
The main findings are summarized and discussed in the last
section, where we also consider their implications for the
financial regulatory structure and practices.
Conceptualizing andOperationalizing Trust
andFinancial Technology
This paper contextualizes trust as the security and reliability
of digital transaction systems that aim to ensure that cus-
tomers’ assets or savings are protected and managed in the
best interest of the customer and the financial institution.
Trustworthy digital transaction systems are operationalized
as safe and reliable technological platforms that financial
institutions use to extend financial services to their custom-
ers. Such services can include mobile money, digital insur-
ance or insurance tech, digital banking or e-transactions,
and digital lending.
The finance literature has deployed a variety of terms
to describe the technological applications in financial ser-
vices: digital financing, digital banking, online banking, and
financial technology, also known as fintech (Nofie, 2020).
Explaining the meaning of fintech, Gomber etal. (2017)
note that the neologism refers to Internet technologies in
the banking industry. The appeal of their definition is the
emphasis on the digitalization of the entire system, which
covers all of the financial sector’s electronic products and
services, such as credit cards, chip cards, automated teller
machines (ATMs), home banking, mobile banking, home
trading services, and electronic exchange systems. This
paper adopts the operationalization of fintech employed by
Gomber etal. (2017).
Gomber etal. (2017) also noted that digital finance is
emerging financial products, financial businesses, finance-
connected software, and interaction offered by fintech com-
panies and their allied institutions. Another related term is
e-finance is used to describe the processes of change in the
sector through the adoption of information and communica-
tion technologies (phone banking, ATMs).
Historical Trajectories ofDigital Financing inGhana
Digital finance was introduced in Ghana in 1997, when the
now-defunct Social Security Bank launched the Sika Card,
allowing cardholders to engage in cashless transactions. In
2008, the government of Ghana also launched the National
Biometric Smart Card Payment System called E-Zwich, an
interoperable payment system for banks and savings and
loan companies as an effort to digitalized the country’s
financial system. Ghana’s digital finance industry gradually
embraced the use of smartphones for financial applications
and transactions (Ministry of Economy & Industry, 2020).
In the past, Ghana’s financial institutions focused on
corporate banking and high-net-worth individuals, effec-
tively denying over 70% of adults access to financial

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services in the formal financial sector (World Bank Group-
Finance and Markets, 2016). However, the high patron-
age of mobile money has showcased the potential of retail
financial services, increasing banks’ interest in financial
inclusion across the country (Ministry of Economy &
Industry, 2020). Data from the Bank of Ghana (2022a)
show that 18.8 million mobile accounts were active as
of June 2022. Over 80% of bank transactions originated
from electronic/digital channels. In January 2022 alone,
the Mobile Money Interoperability system recorded GHC
2.107 billion (USD 0.263 billion) in transactions, a 57%
jump from the GHC 906 million (USD 113.1 million; USD
1 = GHC 8.01) registered in January 2021 (Bank of Ghana,
2022b; JoyNews, 2022). These data point to the growing
maturity of Ghana’s financial technology sector.
Four principal financial market infrastructures in Ghana
are often credited with enabling banks to deliver financial
services to customers: the Real Time Gross Settlement
system; Cheque Codeline Clearing system; Ghana Auto-
mated Clearing House system; and E-Zwich, the National
Biometric Smart Card Payment System. Other consequen-
tial infrastructural elements include the National Switch-
ing and Processing System, Ghana Interbank Payments
and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) Instant Pay (GhIPSS
GIP), and GhanaPay, the first nationwide mobile money
wallet with participation from universal banks, rural
banks, and savings and loans companies (Design Digital
Cedis, 2019). Many banks utilize these financial market
infrastructures and digital channels to broaden their reach
and customer base. With customer acceptance of tech-
nology, conventional methods of transacting banking busi-
ness, such as going to the bank hall, are gradually evolving
in Ghana (Ansong etal., 2015; Ansog etal., 2020). Mobile
technology offers convenience to customers of financial
institutions, and it is driving these institutions to offer sim-
pler ways to do business to their ever-growing customer
base (Nyako, 2017).
On the policy and regulatory front, the liberalization of
the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data channel has
allowed banks to leverage mobile phones to deliver financial
services (Ministry of Economy & Industry, 2020). The Bank
of Ghana, the regulator, also supports financial activities by
providing policy and regulatory guidance to mitigate sys-
temic risk and safeguard consumer protection in the financial
space. Moreover, the Bank of Ghana has set up a Fintech and
Innovation Office, formulated e-money and digital financial
service policies, introduced a payment-system and services
law (Act 987, 2019), and instituted a fintech licensing regime
to regulate the ecosystem. These policies and regulations
are crucial to creating an enabling environment for fintech
to expand and thrive (Koomson etal., 2020,2021; Ofori-
Acquah etal., 2022).
Methodology
Search Strategy andScreening
For this study, we draw on a two-stage approach in search
of data for analysis (stage 1: policy documents and stage
2: published academic articles) regarding technology and
trust building in the Ghanaian financial sector. A desk
review approach was used to examine whether each of
the documents were related to technology or trust build-
ing in Ghana. To ensure a deep and credible search for
materials, we used a search strategy by utilizing the fol-
lowing keywords: technology, electronic, digitalization,
digitize*financing, digitize*banking, finanacial*trust,
finanacial*confidence, fintech, finanacial*commitment,
and Ghana (see Table1) during the month of July 2022.
In stage 1, we conducted a Google search by typing
what we were interested in finding into the search box to
identify the following relevant national documents: Digital
Financial Service Policy (2023); Fintech Sector in Ghana
Review (2020); Digital Transformation (2021); Payment
System Strategy Plan (2019–2024), Design Digital Cedis
(2019), and Cyber and Information Security Directive
(2018). In stage 2, we used the keywords specified above
to conduct a search of the literature in the search engine for
Emerald Insight site, the Taylor and Francis site, and that
for the Wiley site. We used these academic sites because
of their relevance and focus to the issue under investiga-
tion as well as considering the fact that sites are also listed
among high-quality peer-reviewed journal article publish-
ers. We excluded studies that did not touch upon the nexus
between technology and trust building in financial sector
of Ghana. We selected only articles that were related to
the Ghanaian financial sector because of the aim of our
study: on technology and their significant relevance for
the specific objectives of this study.
Data Extraction andAnalyses
We adopted the following steps for the analysis. We began
by examining the identified policy documents. First, we
searched the identified sources for keywords used above.
Second, we read the identified policy documents indepen-
dently and thoroughly to ensure that they were related to
the technologies and tools mentioned. Third, we catego-
rized the key technologies based on payment platforms
and investment platforms that the banks leverage for their
operations. Fourth, we read only state policies that have
contents that reflected safeguarding trust in the sector.
Examples include the Digital Financial Service Policy
(2020–2023), Ghana Digital Economy Diagnostics (2019),

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and Digital Transformation (2021). Finally, we analyzed
the academic articles by uploading them into the Nvivo
software and we used the “text search” function of the
“explore” option to search for content related to trust- and
technology-associated words.
Findings andDiscussion
This paper examined policy and strategic documents and
peer-reviewed literature to identify insights into how tech-
nology facilitates trust building in the financial sector. The
use of Ghana as a case study enables us to glean valuable
insights. The review centered on consequential questions
in three areas: (1) How have Ghana’s financial institutions
linked technology to trust building to promote financial ser-
vices? (2) What initiatives, strategies, and policy innovations
have been optimal in leveraging technology to build trust in
digital financial-services delivery within the country? (3)
What key challenges hinder growth of trust in digital finan-
cial services within Ghana?
Efforts byGhanaian Financial Institutions toLink
Technology andTrust Building inPromoting
Financial Services
It is evident from the reviewed documents that a trust-
building agenda is integral to adopting new technologies
in the financial sector.
Although technology and trust were commonly men-
tioned in most documents, the review did not find a sin-
gle document that used these terms together in a state-
ment. The terms fintech and trust were used together,
as evidenced by the following excerpts from policy
documents:
Digital Financial Services (DFS), enabled by fintech,
has the potential to lower costs, increase speed, security,
and transparency.… They can respond to … demand-side
barriers, including … trust and formality and geographi-
cal barriers. (Digital Financial Service Policy, 2020, p. v)
As the number of DFS providers expands, there is a
risk of increased complaints and fraud, and customer
Table 1 The number of times key terms were referenced in the policy and strategy documents reviewed
Compiled by the Researchers, 2022
Policy
documents and
other strategy
documents
Digital banking
and financing Technology Trust Commitment Digitalization Electronic Confidence Sum of counts Percentage
Digital Financial
Service Policy,
2020–2023
34 5 28 67 20%
FinTech Sector in
Ghana Review,
2020
17 1 2 2 22 7%
Digital
Transformation,
2021
3 1 4 1%
National Payment
System
Strategy Plan,
2019–2024
32 16 5 34 3 90 27%
Ghana Digital
Economy
Diagnostics,
2019
30 24 2 56 17%
Ghana Financial
Inclusion and
Development
Strategy,
2018–2023
12 17 2 2 19 7 59 18%
Design Paper of
the Digital Cedi
(eCedi)
7 10 2 7 26 8%
Digital Identity in
Ghana,
2 5 7 2%
Grand total 331 100%

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trust in DFS will decline if these are not properly dealt
with (Digital Financial Service Policy, 2023, p. 30).
Another is an awareness campaign targeting custom-
ers as well as merchants on the usage and benefits of
digital payments, in order to counter any lack of trust
in digital payments and the fact that such services are
not yet broadly perceived to be convenient (Digital
Financial Service Policy, 2023, p. 43).
Traditionally, financial institutions, especially banks,
have had a reputation for embracing technology and inno-
vation with enthusiasm (Asante & Baafi, 2022). However,
the review suggests that the underlying motivation for such
enthusiasm is often a dual focus on enhancing service deliv-
ery and safeguarding trust among stakeholders in the finan-
cial sector. For instance, financial institutions now have a
significant investments in leveraging chatbots to deliver
human-like experiences; blockchain to foster transparency
and trust; and data analytics to facilitate decision-making,
fraud detection, and risk management (Hwang & Kim,
2021). Other financial institutions are co-opting robotic
automation to improve process accuracy and task execu-
tion, cloud computing to facilitate online and digital wal-
let transactions, and open-standard authorization to prevent
third-party attacks (Aslam etal., 2022; Senyo, 2022).
However, customers have developed a sophisticated view
of trust and how it shapes their choices. Examining how trust
influences customers’ adoption of digital banking platforms,
Asante and Baafi (2022) showed that knowledge-based trust
and the propensity to trust influenced customers’ choice of
digital banking platforms but that institutional-based trust
did not influence adoption. In other words, customers’ gen-
eral assessment of the financial sector or specific institutions
may not matter as much as their knowledge of particular
platforms and their disposition to trust. Thus, unreliable fin-
tech platforms may substantially impede customer trust in
financial products and services. Speculation that the nature
of the platforms drives customer decisions aligns with the
World Bank Group’s report (2019). It identified low trust
in e-services, persistent lack of Internet connectivity, and
dysfunctional offerings (e-mail, websites, and other basic
services by most financial institutions) as key challenges for
the digital drive agenda of the government of Ghana. The
report called for strengthening data-protection expertise to
safeguard personal data.
Results from our review also offered clues into the impe-
tus for harnessing technology to foster trust in the finan-
cial sector. Some of the peer-reviewed studies we examined
described trust as a belief between parties that they should
act in a socially responsible manner and not take advan-
tage of the other party (Czerwinski & Larson, 2002; Gefen,
2000). When trust is established in a relationship, indi-
viduals are willing to participate in cooperative interaction
(Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998). For the provider, technology is
central to building trust, but the reverse is valid for the cus-
tomer, especially when trust becomes the driver for accept-
ance of technology.
Cognizant of the dynamic relationship between technol-
ogy and trust, financial institutions strive to account for
customer sentiments in selecting technologies for service
delivery. Kosiba etal. (2020) tapped into the nuances of trust
by using data from Ghana’s banking sector to explore two
perspectives: (a) trust in service providers and the economy
and (b) trust in products and services. Trust in a service
provider accounts for a customer’s willingness to depend
on the provider to protect their interests and investments as
promised (McKnight etal., 1998). Conversely, trust in the
economy develops from the benefit of patronizing a par-
ticular service or product (Panteli & Sockalingam, 2005).
In both kinds of trust, technology could play a key role in
helping customers track and verify their transactions and
engagements (Agyei etal., 2020).
Leveraging Technology toBuild Trust inDigital
Financial Services Delivery Within Ghana
The review found that Ghana’s efforts at trust building in
its financial sector align with global best practices. Spe-
cifically, Ghana has taken critical steps consistent with the
policy proposals articulated in the World Bank’s Bali fintech
paper (The World Bank, 2020). The steps fit into two priority
areas: (a) the adoption of a regulatory framework and super-
visory practices for orderly development and stability of the
financial system (i.e., World Bank, 2020, Element 6) and
(b) the protection of the integrity of financial systems (i.e.,
World Bank, 2020, Element 7). Ghana has pursued these two
elements through legislation, technological infrastructure,
and awareness creation.
Ghana has adopted several initiatives backed by legis-
lation. The National Digital Property Addressing System
and the Re-registration of SIM Cards are examples. These
initiatives brought about a single database that links to the
national identification card, supporting verification, and
authentication of individuals’ details. In addition, the Data
Protection Act (Act 843 of 2012) was adopted to protect
individuals’ privacy and personal data and to pave the way
for combating cybercrime and credit card fraud. Finally,
the Electronic Transaction Act (Act 772 of 2008) and the
National Information Technology Agency Act (Act 771 of
2008) were passed to strengthen individuals’ confidence
(The World Bank, 2019).
In the area of technological infrastructure, the analysis
revealed that the deployment of technologies in Ghana’s
financial sector spans the macro (national) and micro (indi-
vidual banking) levels but is mainly confined to two kinds of

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technological applications: (a) payment platform technolo-
gies and (b) trade and investment technologies. From the
macro to the micro levels, the country has pursued initiatives
that prioritize the successful extension of banking services
and products to the unbanked population; this has emerged
as a critical motivation for deploying technologies in the
financial sector. The Ghana Interbank Payments and Settle-
ment Systems (GhIPSS) and the universal QR code system
are some of the critical financial market infrastructures that
have advanced this vision of greater financial inclusion.
Considered the National Payment Systems Infrastructure
provider, the GhIPSS has a mandate to ensure financial
inclusion for the unbanked population by developing effec-
tive and secure electronic-payment platforms with the col-
laboration of all industry players. Ghana’s universal QR code
system, the first to be launched in Africa, aids all Ghanaians
in making instant payments from their mobile-money wal-
lets, bank accounts, and international cards.
The GhIPSS (from a provider perspective) and the uni-
versal QR code system (from an end-user perspective) align
with Ghana’s agenda as specified in the Digital Governance
Strategy of 2005 and the e-Government Interoperability
Framework of 2017. These two infrastructural advance-
ments, combined with other developments, have dramati-
cally altered technology adoption in the financial sector.
Per the E-Governance Development Index of 2022, Ghana
ranked 106 out of 193 countries. In contrast, Nigeria, the
continent’s most populous nation, ranked 140, and Kenya
ranked 113. It seems apparent that Ghana’s introduction of
the Digital Financial Service of 2020–2023 and other sus-
tained efforts remain critical to the improvement of tech-
nology applications in service delivery (UN E-Government,
2022).
The review showed that, apart from policy initiatives spe-
cifically targeted at the financial sector, other complemen-
tary nationwide initiatives, such as awareness campaigns,
are critical to improving consumer protection and engen-
dering trust. A prime example is the National Cyber Secu-
rity Awareness Month campaign known as “A Safer Digital
Ghana, 2018.” The campaign complemented the policy fight
against cybercrime in that both were designed to build indi-
viduals’ confidence in using technologies. These initiatives
are essential and timely, given that fraud is a major chal-
lenge to be overcome in adopting digital banking (Avortri
& Agbanyo, 2020; Bank of Ghana, 2019).
Challenges toGrowth ofTrust inDigital Financial
Services Within Ghana
In the reviewed literature, trust and financial stability are
directly intertwined (Chernykh etal., 2019). Schmid (2020)
argued that this direct connection is partly why trust is
the second-most-relevant ingredient sought by consumers
purchasing financial products and services. Baidoo and
Akoto (2019) also found that trust significantly explains
savings in the financial sector. When trust is missing, the
likelihood of buying financial products is low, as is growth
in the sector. It is one thing to introduce varied and new tech-
nologies into the financial sector but another for consumers
to accept them. Although the financial sector is striving to
leverage technologies, the trust of financial consumers is
vital because of cybercrimes associated with some of the
technologies such as mobile-money payment fraud.
There are several challenges to the effectiveness of over-
reliance on technology applications to promote trust in the
financial sector. Our analysis suggests that several hinder
digital financial-service growth (Al-Ajlouni & Al-Hakim,
2018; Li etal., 2017; Pankomera & Van Greunen, 2018).
The first set of challenges is related to access: (a) Needed
technologies are unaffordable, requiring financial institutions
with low purchasing power to procure state-of-art software
and ICT equipment; (b) end users have limited skills because
state regulators and bankers have not succeeded in creating
adequate awareness; and (c) insufficient legal backing mak-
ing it difficult to enforce usage of digital financial services
(Anamuah-Mensah & Marfo, 2009; Domeher etal., 2014).
The second set of challenges has direct implications for
trust: platform fraud and cybercrime, inadequate compli-
ance with risk protocols around data privacy, digital illit-
eracy, and security; and unreliability of certain technologies
(Anamuah-Mensah & Marfo, 2009; Domeher etal., 2014).
Conclusion andImplications
In conclusion, our findings suggest that Ghana is com-
mitted to strengthening the adoption of technologies in
the financial sector. This finding is based on our review
of several government policies, regulations, and initiatives
related to the financial sector. Notable among these efforts
are the 2019 Payment System and Services Act (Act 987),
the Re-registration of SIM Cards, the GhIPSS, the Digi-
tal Financial Service, and the universal QR code system.
These initiatives suggest that Ghana is on course to develop
a robust technological environment, which will position the
country’s financial sector to compete effectively with other
financial institutions worldwide.
The current study makes significant contribuions that
fill gaps in extant financial literature. The results have
some policy and managerial implications and could help
improve policy implementation among such stakehold-
ers as the government, fintech institutions, financial and
nonfinancial institutions, and financial customers. First
among these implications, the Bank of Ghana, Ministry
of Finance, Ministry of Information, Ministry of Interior,
and allied agencies have specific roles to play in fighting

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against technology-facilitated frauds. Specificlly, they have
collective responsibilities to collaborate, coordinate, and
provide more support in policy implementations. Failure
to address such fraud and the abuse of technologies may
undermine trust in the financial sector. Second, recog-
nizing the cost of technology purchase and affordability
barriers, the Bank of Ghana should consider a principled
approach to technology adoption by banks. Third, the gov-
ernance and effective supervision of fintech in Ghana, and
the legal and normative framework, should ensure that
financial inclusion is built on user-friendly and locally tai-
lored technology applications.
With respect to managerial implications, the study
suggests that bank managers and financial practitioners
should also make every possible effort to follow the due
procedures necessary to build public trust and confidence
in the financial sector. The Bank of Ghana’s recent direc-
tive serves as an example. It specifies that, starting from
July 1, 2022, the Ghana Card will be the only biometric
ID required for all financial transactions by financial insti-
tutions licensed by the Bank of Ghana. This technology-
based ID initiative will boost the confidence of financial
service customers. In addition, it is important to affirm
that the Bank of Ghana and other allied regulatory bodies
should assist banks in procuring technologies at affordable
prices. They should coordinate with financial institutions
to ensure that more awareness programs are carried out,
including programs that educate the public on the relevant
technologies in the sector. The security services and the
judiciary also have roles to play in helping the banks com-
bat financial-related crimes.
Our review finds that Ghana is continually leveraging
technologies to build trust in the financial sector. It is one of
the few African countries to fully embrace fintech concepts
and roll out fintech innovations in the financial sector, nota-
bly in the critical areas of a regulatory framework, super-
visory standards, and protections for the financial system’s
integrity. However, in the face of ongoing challenges, more
needs to be done to build trust in the financial sector by
enacting and implementing the necessary policies and regu-
lations that support the use of technologies within the sector.
Acknowledgements We thank all authors of the studies included in
this policy review and peer review literature.
Author Contribution Mr Charles Ofori-Acquah is a chartered and well-
known banker by all standards and was the one who conceived the
topic, supervised, and reviewed the entire write-up of the manuscript.
Dr Christine Avortri is a chartered banker and lecturer. She wrote the
introduction, literature review, compiled, and submitted the manuscript.
Dr Alexander Preko is a senior researcher and lecturer. He aided in
downloading the policy documents and literature for this study, wrote
the methodology, discussion, conclusion, and implications.
Data Availability Not applicable.
Declarations
Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate Not applicable.
Consent for Publication Not applicable.
Competing Interests The authors declare no competing interest.
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