The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has publicly identified 20 mobile loan applications operating in Ghana without the required licence or authorisation — and it wants the public to stay clear of all of them.
In a notice issued on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, the central bank said these unlicensed entities are committing significant violations of customer data privacy, consumer protection standards, and established regulatory frameworks. The BoG did not mince words: it has advised the public not to engage with any of the flagged loan providers.
Banks and Payment Providers Also on Notice
The warning does not stop at everyday consumers. The BoG has explicitly cautioned banks, Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs), and Payment Service Providers (PSPs) against facilitating or processing transactions on behalf of any unlicensed digital lender. That is a significant move — it effectively tries to cut off the financial infrastructure these apps rely on to operate.
The central bank says the notice is part of a broader effort to clean up Ghana's digital credit space and shield the public from entities offering digital lending services without proper authorisation.
A Direct Breach of the 2025 Digital Credit Directive
According to the BoG, the activities of these apps directly contravene the Directive for Digital Credit Service Providers in Ghana, which the central bank issued in September 2025. That directive set out the licensing and operational requirements for any entity offering digital credit services in the country.
A year after that directive came into force, two dozen apps are still running without compliance — a situation the BoG clearly views as untenable. The concerns around data privacy and consumer protection are particularly pointed, given that many of these apps typically request access to users' contacts, messages, and personal data as part of their loan application processes.
What the Public Should Do
The BoG is urging Ghanaians to verify the regulatory status of any digital lender before downloading an app or submitting personal information. The central bank has not published the specific list of the 20 flagged apps in its public advisory text, but it has made clear that all 20 are operating outside the legal framework.
This kind of regulatory crackdown on digital financial services is becoming more common across Africa, as mobile lending has exploded in popularity while regulatory oversight has struggled to keep pace. Ghana's move signals that the BoG intends to enforce the 2025 directive with teeth.
For now, the message from the central bank is straightforward: if a mobile loan app cannot be verified as licensed by the BoG, do not use it.