BoG’s Regulatory Sandbox to receive innovations from Feb 13.

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has announced it will from between February 13 and March 14, 2023 be receiving applications from Banks, Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions, all innovators, Payment Service Providers, Non-Bank Financial Institutions and aspiring FinTech Start-Ups for innovations in its regulatory sandbox platform.

 Press release issued by the regulator said the  “Regulatory Sandbox is open from 13th February 2023 to 14th March 2023 to admit the first cohort of participants.”

The release stated further that the regulatory sandbox will support innovations in new digital business models not currently covered explicitly or implicitly under any regulation; new and immature digital financial service technology; and  Innovative and disruptive digital financial service products that have the potential of addressing a present financial inclusion challenge.

The BoG said the first cohort window will largely accept innovations from payments, remittances, crowdfunding and micro-lending.

“Entities eligible to participate in the Regulatory Sandbox include: Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions, Savings and Loans companies, Microfinance companies, Financial Holding companies, Dedicated Electronic Money Issuers, Payment Service Providers, and unlicensed FinTech Start-Ups,” the statement said.

Launched in August 2022, the Regulatory Sandbox is a tool aimed at harnessing the potential of technology to develop an efficient and inclusive financial service industry without risking financial stability.

It is expected to serve as an enabling framework for small scale, live testing of innovations by innovators (operating under a special exemption, allowance, or other limited, time-bound exception) in a controlled environment under the regulator’s supervision.