The flagbearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, will launch Ghana’s first national credit score system today, Thursday, 7 November 2024.

This landmark initiative aims to expand access to credit by giving Ghanaians the ability to purchase goods on credit and make flexible, installment-based payments, a significant step towards financial inclusion and economic empowerment.

Speaking recently in Yeji, Bono Region, Dr. Bawumia described the new system as a cornerstone of his vision for a financially inclusive Ghana.

The credit score system, he explained, will provide a reliable way to assess an individual's creditworthiness, helping those previously excluded from financial services to gain fair access.

“That credit scoring system, every individual will have a credit score. Right now, our credit scoring system does not exist. So everybody is seen as risky and the interest rates are high,” he said. “But we are going to move into individualised credit scoring. So if you don’t pay your loan, you have low credit scores, isn’t it? And if you go for a loan, you will have a problem,” Dr. Bawumia stated.

Currently, high interest rates are common due to the lack of credit assessment infrastructure, which results in most individuals being perceived as high-risk borrowers.

By implementing individualized credit scores, Dr. Bawumia aims to address these high costs and promote responsible lending and borrowing practices.

Each person’s credit score will be based on their payment history, creating incentives for timely repayments while offering lenders a tool to better evaluate credit risk.

Throughout his campaign, Dr. Bawumia has emphasised policies that address daily financial challenges for Ghanaians.

This new system, he asserts, will not only enable more citizens to participate in the economy but will also foster trust within the financial sector.