Bank of Ghana suspends Flutterwave and Cellulant remittance partnerships and bars Halges

The Bank of Ghana announced on 4 September 2025 that it had suspended the remittance partnerships of Flutterwave Inc. and Cellulant Ghana Limited for one month, effective 18 September 2025, and barred Halges Financial Technologies Limited from undertaking remittance activities until it obtains the central bank's prior approval.

The central bank said the payment service providers had engaged in unauthorised remittance transactions on behalf of money transfer operators through their settlement bank, United Bank for Africa (Ghana) Limited. Flutterwave and Cellulant were found to have breached paragraphs 5 and 7.1–7.3 of the Updated Guidelines for Inward Remittance Services by Payment Service Providers, 2023, as amended by Notice BG/GOV/SEC/2025/25. Paragraph 5 sets out application requirements for dedicated electronic money issuers and enhanced payment service providers, while paragraph 7 covers the operational modalities for remittance services.

FIVE MONEY TRANSFER OPERATORS ALSO SUSPENDED

In the same announcement, the Bank of Ghana suspended for one month, also from 18 September 2025, the remittance partnerships of five money transfer operators — Taptap Send, Top Connect, Remit Choice, Send App and Afriex — which had carried out the unauthorised transactions with the three fintech firms through the settlement bank. The action therefore covered both the operators and the payment service providers that partnered with them.

Any bank or money transfer operator seeking to engage the affected payment service providers for remittance services in future must re-apply for approval after the suspension period has lapsed. The central bank cautioned all operators to comply strictly with the updated guidelines and with foreign exchange regulations, warning that further breaches would attract sanctions.