Ghana’s interbank payment system recorded a remarkable surge in transaction value in 2025, with the total value of transactions processed through the Ghana Interbank System (GIS) climbing to an astonishing GH¢9.45 trillion, even as the overall number of transactions declined.
The development highlights a major shift in Ghana’s financial system, where fewer transactions are moving significantly larger amounts of money through formal interbank channels.
According to the Bank of Ghana’s 2025 Payment Systems Oversight Annual Report, the total volume of GIS transactions fell from 1,334,492 in 2024 to 1,247,975 in 2025.
Despite this decline of 86,517 transactions, the total value of transactions rose sharply from GH¢6.13 trillion to GH¢9.45 trillion.
The figures point to a dramatic increase in the amount of money being transferred through Ghana’s interbank infrastructure.
GH¢9.45 Trillion Flows Through Interbank System
The increase in transaction value represents one of the most striking developments in Ghana’s payment ecosystem during 2025.
While transaction volumes contracted, the value processed through the GIS increased by about 54%, moving from GH¢6.13 trillion to GH¢9.45 trillion.
The Bank of Ghana attributed the strong performance of the GIS to heightened economic activity and increased participation by financial institutions on the platform.
This suggests that the system handled considerably larger-value transactions during the year, reinforcing its importance to Ghana’s financial sector.
The surge also demonstrates that transaction volume alone does not necessarily provide a complete picture of activity within a payment system.
In 2025, fewer transactions generated a substantially larger monetary value.
Average Transaction Value Soars
Perhaps the most striking figure in the report is the increase in the average value of each GIS transaction.
The average value per transaction increased by 64.7% to GH¢7,572,843 in 2025.
This means that, on average, each transaction processed through the interbank system involved substantially more money than in the previous year.
The increase could indicate greater concentration of high-value transactions within the formal banking system.
It also underscores the critical role played by interbank payment infrastructure in facilitating large financial transfers between institutions and other participants in the economy.
With billions of cedis moving through the system, the continued reliability and efficiency of the GIS remains crucial to financial stability and the smooth functioning of Ghana’s economy.
Cheque Transactions Move in the Opposite Direction
While interbank payment values surged, cheque transactions continued to lose ground in 2025.
The Bank of Ghana reported that the volume of interbank cheques cleared declined by 265,641 transactions during the year.
This represented a 4.8% decline, significantly higher than the 0.2% decline recorded in 2024.
The continued fall in cheque usage reflects the growing preference for digital payment channels among businesses, financial institutions and consumers.
For years, cheques played an important role in Ghana’s financial system. However, the rapid expansion of electronic and mobile payment options has increasingly challenged their relevance.
The latest figures suggest that this transformation is gathering pace.
Cheque Values Still Rise
Despite the sharp decline in cheque transaction volumes, the value of cheques cleared did not fall.
Instead, the total value of cheque transactions increased from GH¢385.00 billion in 2024 to GH¢415.20 billion in 2025.
However, the growth was relatively modest compared with the previous year.
The 2025 increase stood at 7.9%, compared with a much stronger 31.0% increase in 2024.
This creates an interesting contrast within Ghana’s payment system.
While fewer cheques are being processed, the remaining transactions involve larger amounts of money.
The average value per cheque transaction increased by 13.3% to GH¢79,067.32 in 2025.
The figures therefore suggest that cheques are increasingly being used for relatively high-value transactions even as their overall popularity declines.
Digital Payments Continue to Reshape Ghana
The decline in cheque transactions comes against the backdrop of Ghana’s accelerating digital payments ecosystem.
Consumers and businesses increasingly have access to electronic channels that offer faster processing, convenience and greater accessibility.
Mobile money, internet banking, electronic funds transfers and other digital payment platforms have transformed the way money moves across the economy.
The growing adoption of these alternatives has reduced the need for traditional paper-based payment instruments.
For financial institutions, the shift also presents opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce some of the costs associated with traditional payment processing.
The continued decline in cheque volumes could therefore represent more than just a change in consumer behaviour. It may signal a deeper transformation in Ghana’s financial architecture.
A Financial System Handling Bigger Transactions
The 2025 payment statistics present a fascinating picture of Ghana’s financial system.
On one side, the GIS processed fewer transactions. On the other hand, the value of those transactions surged dramatically.
The GH¢9.45 trillion recorded through the system demonstrates the enormous scale of financial activity taking place through Ghana’s interbank infrastructure.
The increase in average transaction value further reinforces this trend, suggesting that high-value transfers played a significant role in driving the overall growth.
At the same time, the declining use of cheques shows that Ghana’s payment ecosystem is becoming increasingly digital.
The challenge for financial institutions and regulators will be to ensure that payment systems remain secure, reliable and accessible as transaction values continue to grow.
READ ALSO: GSE Opens September With Strong Volume and Mixed Results
