The Government is set to roll out non-interest banking as pledged in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) 2024 manifesto as part of a broader financial sector reform agenda.
In May this year, the Bank of Ghana inuagurated a team led by Prof. John Gatsi to establishing the necessary framework for Islamic finance in Ghana.
Also Read
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has yesterday, December 3, 2025 called on commercial banks to urgently upgrade their core banking systems, warning that most existing platforms “may not be compatible” with the technical and governance standards required for non-interest banking as the regulator prepares to introduce a dual-licensing framework for the sector.
Speaking at a capacity-building programme on non-interest banking and finance on behalf of Governor Dr. Johnson Asiama in Accra, the Head of Banking Supervision Department, Mr. Ismail Adam stated that banks must begin immediate technical assessments rather than wait for the finalisation of regulatory directives.
Mr. Adam noted that conventional banking systems which was built to support interest-based lending and deposit structures are unlikely to adequately handle the asset-backed, risk-sharing and profit-sharing models which underpin non-interest finance.
“Your core banking applications for commercial banking may not be enough or accurate for non-interest banking,” he said.
This initiative marks the first time the central bank is mainstreaming a regulatory framework for non-interest banking since the concept was recognised under the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act (Act 930) in 2016.
Under BoG’s proposed regulatory structure, the central bank plans to issue two distinct licences. The first will permit conventional banks to operate non-interest ‘windows’, enabling them to offer non-interest financial products alongside their traditional interest-based business.
The second licence will apply to full-fledged non-interest banks, which will operate entirely within the non-interest framework.
The central bank said the model is designed to foster competition and innovation while preventing market fragmentation by ensuring regulatory consistency across banking, insurance and capital markets. The Securities and Exchange Commission and National Insurance Commission have been working with BoG to harmonise supervisory guidelines ahead of the sector’s rollout.
