The Deputy Director General, Operations at the Securities and Exchange Commission Ghana, Mr. Mensah Thompson has taken direct aim at international payment platforms, describing the fees charged to Ghanaian exporters as a complete rip-off and positioning Ghana’s new virtual assets framework as the remedy.
Speaking with Business Outlook Africa on the back of the passage of the Virtual Assets Bill, Mr. Mensah Thompson did not mince words in his assessment of how global payment intermediaries have long shortchanged African exporters.
“My biggest challenge which I’ve not spoken about enough is how international payment platforms rip Ghana, Ghanaians off — or Africans off — in terms of payments. You go to your farm as a cocoa farmer, you grow your cocoa or your cashew or whatever commodity. Mastercard was nowhere to be found, but you go sell, you export your cocoa to the European market, and before you receive your money, some middleman called Mastercard or Visa or SWIFT is taking about 5% of your money for doing absolutely nothing — just to help you get your money for your export,” he stated.
Mr. Mensah Thompson outlined what he sees as the most enduring impact of the new framework which is bringing down the cost of moving money across borders for both exporters and importers.
“The biggest legacy will be that Ghanaian exporters will be able to aggregate their export proceeds for a fraction of the cost. And Ghanaian importers will be able to pay for their imports for a fraction of the cost, with convenience, access and efficiency,” he said.
He added that the ripple effects of lower transaction costs would extend well beyond payments, driving greater connectivity, spawning new industries, and ultimately building wealth across Ghana’s economy.
“With speed and efficiency comes more connectivity and more industries that will flow from it. The derivative aspects of it are going to come — it’s going to create further opportunities and a whole set of value chain that is going to build wealth for our people,” he added.
The Deputy Director General then concluded by adding that,President Mahama’s assent to the Virtual Asset Bill during December last year will go down as one of his greatest legacies in some years to come.
“President John Mahama — it will be one of his greatest legacies that he signed the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act into law. In fact, he signed it on the 24th of December 2025, a day before Christmas, where he should be relaxing with his family. He was in the office working. He signed the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act into law. He’s given us all the support that we need to do this. And that will be a very big contribution to his legacy,” he stated.
The Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 (Act 1154) was passed into law by Parliament on December 19, 2025, and received presidential assent on December 30, 2025. The landmark legislation establishes a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework to supervise, license, and register cryptocurrency and virtual asset operations in the country.
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