The Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) hosted an executive delegation from the Central Bank of Liberia to unpack Ghana’s experience in developing, operating and scaling national payment infrastructure. The engagement formed part of the Central Bank of Liberia’s efforts to draw practical lessons from Ghana’s payments journey as it continues to strengthen and develop Liberia’s payment ecosystem. The discussions provided an opportunity for the delegation to gain insights into the evolution of Ghana’s payment landscape, from the establishment of GhIPSS to the development of an increasingly interconnected digital payments ecosystem.

Key areas of discussion included the strategic objectives that informed the establishment of GhIPSS, major milestones in Ghana’s payments journey, and how the national payment infrastructure has evolved in response to changing market needs and growing transaction volumes.

The delegation also explored Ghana’s payment architecture and the technology supporting the country’s instant payment ecosystem. Discussions covered the various payment platforms and services operated by GhIPSS, the evolution of the infrastructure, and the capabilities required to operate and scale national payment systems.

Governance and the operating model of GhIPSS also featured prominently. The engagement examined the respective roles of the Bank of Ghana and GhIPSS, the development and management of scheme rules, participant performance and compliance, as well as the institutional capabilities required to operate a national payment infrastructure effectively.

Another key area was participant onboarding and ecosystem development. The delegation sought insights into how GhIPSS has connected banks, fintechs and other financial service providers to the national payment infrastructure, including the challenges associated with technical integration and the measures used to encourage participants to drive adoption among their customers.

The discussions further covered the evolution of payment use cases in Ghana, pricing considerations and the factors that have contributed to increased adoption and transaction volumes. Cross-border payments also featured, including Ghana’s participation in the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS).

The delegation also benefited from GhIPSS’s operational experience in areas such as dispute resolution, fraud and risk management, settlement and liquidity management, participant monitoring, service-level agreements and incident management.

Reflecting on Ghana’s experience, the engagement provided an opportunity to discuss some of the challenges encountered along the journey and the capabilities that have become critical to maintaining reliable and resilient payment infrastructure as the ecosystem has grown.

The engagement underscores the value of knowledge exchange among African payment institutions, particularly as countries continue to build interoperable, secure and inclusive payment ecosystems.

Through engagements of this nature, GhIPSS continues to share lessons from Ghana’s payments transformation while contributing to broader efforts to strengthen payment infrastructure and digital financial inclusion across Africa.