The Bank of Ghana (BoG), banking sector regulator, is currently reviewing the license applications for non-interest banking operations of two commercial banks, an addition to the one bank that requested earlier this year.
Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, Governor, Bank of Ghana, said this while responding to questions on the status of the country’s non-interest banking at the just ended 132nd Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) briefing in Accra on Thursday.
The development underscores a growing interest in alternative banking models and a tangible progress in the government’s push to increase access to finance for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and promote social inclusion.
He noted that one application was for the establishment of a fully-fledged non-interest bank, while the second licence application came from a local bank already in operation that wished to introduce non-interest banking instruments alongside its conventional services.
“We have so far received two license applications – one is to establish a fully-fledged non-interest bank. The second is one of the banks already in operation – a local bank that wants to introduce some of the instruments under non-interest banking,” Dr Asiama said.
As to when the licences would be granted, the Central Bank Governor said they did not want it to be time bound, adding: “It doesn’t have to be by the end of the year. What’s important is that the consultations are thorough and that we all come into agreement.”
He said that the consultative approach reflected government commitment to building consensus around a regulatory framework that all parties find acceptable, adding that the non-interest banking was fundamentally for economic inclusion.
“The objective is to broaden the spectrum of financial service providers so that different segments of society can be accommodated when it comes to promoting social inclusion, he stated.
On concerns by segments of stakeholders on religiosity, he said multiple Committees had been convened and were actively engaging across sectors, listening to diverse perspectives, and working towards building consensus.
Governor Asiama said the government’s non-interest banking initiative was purely business-focused and carried no religious dimension, despite potential misconceptions associating such models with specific faith traditions.
In many sub-Saharan Africa, including Ghana, several populations continued to be unbanked or underbanked, with experiences from Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia showing that well-designed non-interest banking frameworks could coexist with conventional banking.
Ghana’s exploration of such innovative digital banking models aligned with broader regional efforts across Africa to expand financial services access for underserved communities and small businesses.
Professor John Gartchie Gatsi, Advisor to the Governor on non-interest banking, in November 2025 said the regulator was fully prepared to roll out operations for the sector, following the completion of all structural and guideline requirements.
He said the initiative, based on Islamic principles, provided a system where lending and borrowing occurred without interest and the proceeds were shared based on agreed profit and loss sharing agreements.
He reiterated that non-interest banking was not a tool to promote Islamic or any other religion, but an avenue to raise alternative funds to develop its economy, particularly SMEs without the burden of interest payments.
“If you go to the US, UK and Malaysia it is there as an alternative banking. Most secular economies have Islamic banking as part of its structure. So, that is what we should be aspiring to have in the country to augment what we have, to promote other areas that we are not able to promote,” he said.