Ghana to explore offline transactions for upcoming CBDC

Ghana is working hard to develop offline functionality for its upcoming central bank digital currency (CBDC) to facilitate its use in various areas of Ghanaian society.

Kwame Oppong, director of financial technology and innovation at the Central Bank of Ghana (BoG), revealed at the Ghana Economic Forum on Monday that the country's digital currency "e-cedi" will support offline transactions, Bloomberg reported on October 18.

Oppong emphasized that the offline functionality will allow Ghanaians who lack reliable electricity and internet connections to embrace the country’s CBDC, saying:

"e-cedi can also be used in an offline environment with some smart cards."

A smart card is a plastic credit card-sized card with a chip that allows users to make transactions using a pre-stored balance. Oxfam has trialed a similar system, using the decentralized stablecoin token DAI for payments to provide relief in environmental disasters.

According to data released by the World Bank in 2019, at that time 84% of Ghanaians had a stable electricity supply, while only 53% were connected to the Internet.

In August, BoG announced a partnership with German financial firm Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) to pilot a retail CBDC in Ghana.

The announcement comes a month after Ghana’s Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, called on African governments to adopt digital currencies as a means of supporting trade on the continent at the Fifth Ghana International Trade and Finance Conference in July.

Local adoption of decentralized cryptocurrencies in Africa is also on the rise, with analytics firm Chainalysis reporting that Africa’s cryptocurrency market has grown by more than 1,200% since 2020 as of last month.

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