Bank of Ghana creates eCedi Integration for Mobile Wallets

Customers of Vodafone Cash and CalBank have been given the option to try out the eCedi, the electronic version of the Bank of Ghana’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

Reports in Ghana suggest that CalBank and Vodafone Cash clients in Accra and Tarkwa in the Western Region are the only ones who can test the online version of the eCedi.

Meanwhile, the analog version of the eCedi is being tested in Sefwi Asafo in the Western North Region, and the Central Bank is impressed by how chosen people in that town utilize the eCedi for daily transactions including food, groceries, and drinks.

According to Governor of the Central Bank, Dr Ernest Addison, in a recent interview, says the response from the piloting has been encouraging, indicating that the country is ready for a complete statewide roll-out of the eCedi soon:

“A pilot was conducted in various parts of the country, and the response I’ve received is that people have been extremely passionate about the desire to be part of the pilot, and some have even gone out of their way to redeploy the CBDC making use of their own resources necessary to conduct transactions.”

Ghanaians’ interest is a positive indication that we will be able to move forward as planned by the end of the pilot.”

According to Dr. Addison, the eCedi will help to increase financial inclusion and savings mobilization, which would hopefully contribute to economic growth.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank has developed online and offline eCedi wallets to provide consumers with convenience and accessibility.

The BoG claimed in its eCedi Development Paper that two wallets were created:

Hosted Wallets, to be administered by the country’s banks and other financial institutions, and

Individuals use Hardware Wallets, which are safe handy storage devices.

Hosted wallets, according to the Central Bank, requires web access to function, while hardware wallets operate in an offline mode.

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