The Bank of Ghana has issued a directive on financial inclusion for persons with disabilities.
This directive is in line with internationally accepted financial inclusion principles, which include safe, efficient, and widely reachable financial infrastructures, access to a broad network of service points, interoperability, and effective awareness and financial literacy initiatives.
It is issued pursuant to sections 6 and 7 of the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715), section 53 of the Borrowers and Lenders Act 2020 (Act 1052), section 92(1) of the Banks & Specialised Deposit Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930), and section 101(2)(f) of the Payment Systems and Services Act 2019 (Act 987).
The objective of this directive is to promote access to financial products and services for persons with disabilities, promote usage of financial products and services by persons with disabilities, and establish a framework for financial service providers to create policies, procedures, and provide facilities to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to a wide range of financial products and services.
The directive is guided by the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Penalties for Non-Compliance
This implies taking positive action to ensure the removal of all barriers that inhibit persons with disabilities.
The Bank of Ghana warned that a financial service provider that fails to institute policies, procedures, and facilities as prescribed by this directive shall be liable to an administrative penalty of not less than two thousand penalty units.
This is in accordance with section 92 (8) of the Banks and Specialised Deposit Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930) and section 44 (3) of the Non-Bank Financial Institution Act, 2008 (Act 774).