The Bank of Ghana says it received 181 applications for various Payment Service Provider (PSP) licences in 2023.

This represents a growth of 448.5 per cent, as compared to 33 applications received in 2022.

The increase in the number of applications, according to the central bank’s Payment Systems Oversight Annual Report 2023, is indicative of its continuous dialogue with the industry, the initiatives put in place and the streamlining of its licensing processes for PSPs.

The central bank said it approved five Payment Service Providers to operate under the Enhanced PSP category and two under the Payment and Financial Technology Service Provider category.

The total number of licensed financial technology companies as of the end of December 2023 was 53.

This was made up of five Dedicated Electronic Money Issuers (DEMIs), 39 PSPs in the Enhanced Licence category, four in the PSP Medium category, and two in the PSP Standard category.

The report said there were three approved entities under the Payment and Financial Technology Service Providers (PFTSP) licence category.

The report noted that the year 2023 witnessed the continued deepening of Ghana’s FinTech space on account of enhanced risk-based supervision and oversight and the implementation of relevant laws, guidelines, and policies.

“This spearheaded an increase in the number of licensed FinTechs. Furthermore, various initiatives were undertaken by the Bank to strengthen the FinTech ecosystem, notably: the FinTech industry workshops, enhancement of the Sandbox platform, the eCedi Hackathon, and an enhanced licensing framework,” said the report.