Accra, March 4, GNA – The Head of Digital Transformation at Stanbic Bank Ghana, Ms Estelle Jacqueline Asare, has called for urgent regulatory safeguards to guide artificial intelligence (AI) and open banking in Ghanaâs financial services landscape.
She said the surge in the adoption of AI and digital banking required the country to establish a strong national regulatory and technological foundation before fully embracing open banking at scale across the country.
Speaking at the Data Protection Conference 2026, on the theme: âThe Future of Trust: AI, Open Banking and Public Digital Infrastructure,â Ms Asare said the regulation would be critical in strengthening the protection of personal and critical national data.
She said open banking, though widely discussed, remained unclear to many outside the financial sector, especially customers of various banks.
âOpen banking is essentially a regulated framework that allows a customerâs financial information to be shared securely between a bank and a third party, or between financial institutions, with the customerâs consent,â she explained.
Such system, she noted, had the potential to unlock innovation, enhance financial inclusion and improve customer experience, but it must be anchored on robust security frameworks and clearly defined protocols.
âWithout a strong governance structure, data sharing can quickly become a vulnerability rather than an opportunity,â Ms Asare said, adding that trust remained the currency of digital transformation.
âIn Ghana, we must first establish a solid open banking foundation. This means defining the legal and security frameworks for sharing customer financial data, identifying the right API standards, and ensuring that all participating institutions meet minimum cybersecurity requirements. Once that groundwork is done, innovation can thrive safely,â she stated.
Ms Asare acknowledged the role of the Bank of Ghana in initiating steps towards an open banking regime, noting that some banks were already participating in pilot programmes, with Ghanaâs unique financial ecosystem requiring a tailored approach.
âOur financial environment is different. Mobile financial services are deeply embedded in our daily lives. Any open banking framework must consider this local context to ensure
inclusiveness. We cannot simply replicate models from Europe or elsewhere without adapting them to Ghanaâs realities,â she said.
Ms Asare drew attention to the broader risks associated with the rapid adoption of AI tools, calling for vigilance among individuals and institutions and heightened consumer awareness.
âData is the new gold. And just like gold, there are âillegal miners.â If we are not careful, we will wake up to find that our most valuable resource, that is, our personal and national data, has been exploited,â she noted.
âEvery time we interact with AI systems, we feed them data â about ourselves, our companies, and sometimes even our families. We must pause and ask: where is this information going? Who has access to it? What protection is in place? Digital convenience should not come at the expense of security.â
Ms Asare advocated a phased approach to open banking, urging financial institutions to have the flexibility to innovate around customer-facing products and services within defined guardrails.
She indicated that once Ghana established a strong domestic open banking framework, it could explore broader integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), enabling seamless financial data interoperability across borders.
ââŠbut we must get our house in order first. When our foundation is strong, we can confidently engage at the continental and global levels.â Ms Asare said.
She expressed appreciation to the Data Protection Commission for championing the awareness of the new technologies and the need for consumer protection as institutions continued to leverage them to innovate and delight their end customers.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe