The Bank of Ghana has told payment service providers (PSPs) and settlement banks that money collected on behalf of merchants must sit in designated settlement accounts, kept separate from the payment firms' own operating accounts, and may not be used, pledged or set off by the PSPs, according to Notice No. BG/GOV/SEC/2026/43, dated 6 November 2026 and posted on the Bank's website on 9 November.
The notice, issued under Section 101 of the Payment Systems and Services Act, 2019 (Act 987), says PSPs "are not deposit-taking institutions" and are therefore not permitted to hold, use, pledge, encumber or exercise ownership rights over merchant collections. Those funds "shall remain the property of the respective merchants" until they are settled under the service level agreement between the PSP and the merchant.
The Bank set out seven requirements:
- Merchant collections must be credited to the designated settlement account and not mixed with the PSP's operating funds.
- PSPs must pay merchants into their designated bank accounts strictly within the settlement periods agreed in the contract.
- PSPs may not withdraw, transfer, pledge, place a lien on, set off or otherwise encumber merchant funds, except to settle the merchant and take fees they have earned.
- Settlement banks must run these accounts solely for settlement and must not let a PSP use the money for operations, financing or investment.
- A PSP's agreed fees, commissions or charges may move to its operating account only as part of settlement.
- PSPs and settlement banks must keep records, controls and audit trails showing compliance.
- The Bank may require settlement banks to submit statements on these accounts at intervals it decides.
Breaches "may attract appropriate regulatory, supervisory and enforcement actions", the notice says, and both PSPs and settlement banks are told to take "immediate steps" to comply and to review their arrangements, agreements and internal controls. The notice does not give a separate compliance deadline.
It is the second payments notice from the Bank dated 6 November 2026. Notice No. 42 listed 46 registered international money transfer operators and barred banks and payment firms from handling remittances through unlisted operators.
Sources: Bank of Ghana Notice No. 43 (6 November 2026); Bank of Ghana notice page; Graphic Online; 3News.