Cashless society versus new Ghana cedi notes – What Ghanaians are asking

Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, in May, 2018, announced government’s intention to introduce a cashless system for government institutions which seeks to curb corruption as it would be easy to track transactions and promote accountability.

This he added, will be the first of its kind in Africa.

On November, 2019 the vice president reiterated government’s commitment to making Ghana a cashless society as he announced a Universal QR code will be launched in December to achieve this aim.

The code he said, will leverage on existing technologies, traders and businesses who will be able to receive payments without a point of sale device.

The introduction of the new bank notes and 2 Cedi coin has however triggered questions from some Ghanaians who mostly seek to find out how the ‘cashless system’ comes to play when new currencies are being introduced.

Many have questioned the relevance of the introduction of the new GHS 100 and GHS 200 notes despite the central bank’s explanations. According to BOG, there was a need to introduce new denominations as high levels of inflation and currency depreciation in the past have eroded some of the gains from redenomination.
















The Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison, further explained the higher denominations will address this increased transaction cost, especially in high-valued transactions in a cash based economy. Also, the structure of the banknotes denomination has changed resulting in a shift in demand for higher denominations (GH¢50 and GH¢20 account for about 70% of the total demand), reflecting the expansion in income and prices.

Below are some videos of the vice president’s pledge of making Ghana a cashless society





Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of policy think tank, IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe has questioned the relevance of the new GHS 100 and GHS 200 cedi notes introduced by the Bank of Ghana.

Also, the Franklin Cudjoe contends that the introduction of these notes will not serve any important purpose but will rather militate against Dr. Bawuwia’s hardworking initiatives implemented to drive the economy towards the cashless system. Read Full Story