Will financial institutions in Africa accept crypto for transactions anytime soon?

Ghana is already enjoying and benefiting from electronic money and transactions as a developing economy. This is seen in other African nations such as Nigeria. The mobile money (momo) service exemplifies the electronic ways through which Africa is adopting electronic commerce. Some financial institutions continue to be concerned about incorporating electronic transactions into their regular operations.

However, the usage of cryptocurrencies has not been entirely acknowledged by African financial institutions, particularly in Ghana. Crypto, like mobile money services, provides simple and seamless transactions that are much superior and less expensive than what these services provide. The best part is that there are no fees for using some of the crypto, such as hive. We will truly embrace the beauty of blockchain and cryptocurrency when hive is widely embraced and utilised by banks in Ghana.

Last time I noticed, local banks and financial organisations were doubtful about cryptocurrency's prospects. Others are concerned about the volatility of bitcoin's price and the broader crypto community. While investors are intrigued by the rise and fall of the cryptocurrency markets, financial institutions are wary about becoming involved.

Sometimes I'm led to assume that bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are much more enticing to individuals in nations with poor banking systems. This is not to push all banks and financial institutions to accept and utilise cryptocurrency, but as long as some of us can send, receive, trade, deposit, and withdraw cash using bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, I don't see why the rest of the world should.

photos by @mcsamm

But I expect that very soon, financial institutions in Ghana will begin to place advertisements on banners and billboards to inform their customers about the importance of investing in bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Customers would be thrilled, as shown in these photographs, to be able to conduct cryptocurrency transactions in Ghana cedi. (ghc)