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Ajoa Yeboah-Afari
Ajoa Yeboah-Afari

A response from the Bank of Ghana …

Dear Ms Yeboah-Afari, My attention has been drawn to your article in the issue of February 17 (with the headline ‘Bank of Ghana, still looking into my soup?’), as well as an earlier article published in 2015.

I planned to respond to the issues back then since my name was specifically mentioned in the first article, but I guess my attention was diverted by other things.

About the issue at stake, "customer unfriendly questions” put to bank clients on the instruction of Bank of Ghana, I must admit that I know many people would find it bothersome responding to so many questions in respect of a small transaction. At times I also complain when I have to do same.

Maybe your suggestion that some of the questions should rather apply to bigger transactions would be worth taking.

However in connection with the information requested, I can assure you that they are very necessary for our work in the Statistics Department of the Bank and specifically to the Balance of Payments Office of the Bank.

It is worth noting that to the ordinary person, a transfer from a non-resident to a relative in (Ghana) is simply a remittance. But in technical terms it may not necessarily be so. It is the purpose for which the transfer is made that determines how it should be classified.

Money sent by a non-resident to a relative for the relative's own private use is what is classified as remittance. But some nonresident Ghanaians also send down monies to relatives for so many other purposes like completing a building project or investing in an enterprise on his behalf or even to purchase treasury bills or shares.

All these various reasons give rise to different classifications in the balance of payments and are all applicable internationally.

I wish to thank you for bringing the issue up and I hope I've been able to explain why we need to be asking for such information despite the obvious discomfort that they cause.

… And the columnist’s comments

Dear Mr Koranteng,

It was a pleasant surprise that your response came the very day the article was published, February 13, or exactly a week ago.

You were unable to respond to the December 11, 2015 article (‘Bank of Ghana, I protest, don’t look into my soup!’) because your “attention was diverted by other things”. I interpret that to mean that those “other things” were more important than a columnist’s enquiry.

I had quoted you as expressing the concern of the Bank of Ghana (BOG) that foreign remittances had declined and the Bank would be working to encourage more people to send money through the banks.

Thank you for your prompt response this time. However, I’m not sure that you address satisfactorily the main issue in my 2015 and February 13 articles. My question is still: why is it necessary for the BOG to ask recipients of foreign remittances through the GCB Bank the “PURPOSE”?

Furthermore, the BOG even requires the GCB Bank to ask recipients their relationship with the sender of the money! How is it the bank’s business, this intrusion?

I’m really baffled what difference it makes to the BOG, whether the money is sent by a lover, husband, child, wife, brother, sister, aunt or uncle; or a friend.

In any case, does the Bank have the means to assess the truthfulness of such information supplied? Do such questions encourage people to send money through the banks?

Your elaborate, “technical” explanation about classifications might be understood by your fellow bankers and statisticians, but frankly I’m not convinced that the BOG needs to know WHY somebody is getting a remittance, or their relationship with the sender.

As you yourself acknowledge, it might be understandable in the case of huge sums – which might arouse suspicion of money laundering. But even then, which bungling money launderer would state on a bank form any details that would make them crime suspects?

One problem with this country is that sometimes seemingly bright ideas are introduced which are never subjected to review afterwards to confirm their continuing usefulness.

For example, I recall that some years ago, the BOG banned the displaying of currency exchange rates outside forex bureaux. The practice was said to be helping black market operators to manipulate the rates, so the exchange rates were to be displayed only inside. Evidently that directive is still in place.

Yet, the exchange rates are shown on TV daily, and are also available online! Not only that; at present anyone with the right smart phone application can easily check exchange rates on their phone.

At the time the ban was placed internet access was minimal. Has any review been done to find out whether the ban is still needed? Or the assumption is that those who are likely to manipulate the rates don’t watch TV, or don’t know how to search for the rates on the internet?

I also seem to recall that when the forex bureaux concept was introduced, the philosophy was ‘no questions asked’ (about how one acquired the foreign money one wanted to change into cedis). That was clearly to encourage people to patronize the facilities.

However, today, despite the current liberalized climate, the BOG requires some GCB Bank money transfer customers to state the ‘purpose’ of their remittances as well as their ‘relationship’ with the sender!

I have checked carefully the recipient forms for MoneyGram and Western Union,two of the most popular money transfer services. NOWHERE ON THOSE FORMS DID I SEE THE WORD ‘PURPOSE’.

The money transfer service I initially wrote about is a Ghanaian company which has a collaboration with the GCB Bank. Why should the prying questions apply only to the Ghanaian money transferservice?

Presumably the Balance of Payments Office of the BOG is not interested in the ‘purpose’ for which customers of Western Union and MoneyGram are sent money?

The BOG recently opened a Contact Centre, obviously a customer-friendly initiative. In that spirit, I suggest again that the BOG needs to abolish the selective, and irritating, ‘purpose’, ‘relationship’ and other such questions which some GCB customers have to answer.

What is good for Western Union and MoneyGram recipients should be good for customers of Ghanaian money transfer companies, too.

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