BoG directs payments platform Dash App to halt operations

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has directed owners of payment platform service, Dash App to halt its operations because it lacked the regulatory approval from the central bank.

In a March 9, 2022 letter, BoG said it had come to its attention that through the Dash App, Spektra Technologies, who are owners of the payment platform, was offering services such as Wallet Creation, Cross Border Payment, Holding of Float Balance, as well as Bill and Utility Payments without the requisite approval.

The fintech was recently featured in a Tech Crunch article to have raised $32.8 million in oversubscribed seed to expand operations.

However, regulators at BoG say the payments platform was required to obtain an appropriate regulatory approval prior to it operating a payment service in Ghana.

They also maintain that they reminded the company that offering payment services in Ghana without a license is an offence under Section 9 (1) of the Payment Systems and Services Act, (Act 987).

“Payment Service Providers are required to obtain the appropriate regulatory approval from the Bank of Ghana under Section 7 (1) of the Payment Systems and Services Act, 2019, (Act 987) prior to operating a payment service in Ghana,” Kwame Oppong, Head of Fintech and Innovation at the Bank of Ghana is quoted to have said in a Daily Graphic interview.

“We have consumers to protect and a sector to keep safer to ensure that consumers are protected”, he said.

Founded by Prince Boakye Boampong, the Dash App has been operating in Ghana since 2019. It currently has operations in Nigeria and Kenya as well.