Bank of Ghana Inaugurates Non-Interest Financial Advisory Council

The Bank of Ghana inaugurated a five-member Non-Interest Financial Advisory Council at Bank Square in Accra on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, according to Graphic Online. The council is chaired by Prof. Bashir Aliyu Umar, formerly a special advisor on non-interest banking to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s governor, and it begins work in a market that has yet to license a single non-interest bank.

The Non-Interest Financial Advisory Council is a five-member body chaired by Prof. Bashir Aliyu Umar, inaugurated at Bank Square in Accra on August 18, 2026, according to Graphic Online. It gives the Bank of Ghana independent technical advice on non-interest banking and does not replace the central bank’s supervisory powers, Citi Newsroom reported.

From Guidelines to Governance

Graphic Online reported that the council’s establishment follows provisions in the Bank of Ghana guideline of January 2026. Citi Newsroom gives that document’s full title as the Guidelines for the Regulation and Supervision of Non-Interest Banking in Ghana. It lets existing financial institutions offer non-interest services through dedicated windows, and it also provides for licensing and supervising fully fledged non-interest institutions, per Graphic Online and Citi Newsroom. Graphic Online describes the model as commercial banking that earns from shared profit and loss rather than by charging or receiving interest. At the ceremony, Governor Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama cited Section 18(1)(r) of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930) as the provision that lets financial institutions offer non-interest banking services, according to Citi Newsroom. “Legal provision alone, just providing for it in the Act, does not create a functioning market,” he said, per Graphic Online. The central bank had already put a dedicated team on the regulatory and supervisory arrangements the sector needed, work that led to the January 2026 guideline, according to Graphic Online and Citi Newsroom.

Who Sits on the Council

Four of the five members are Ghanaian and one is Nigerian, and between them they cover Islamic finance, accounting, economics, banking, financial strategy, and liquidity management, according to Graphic Online. Prof. John Gatsi, the advisor to the Bank of Ghana’s governor on non-interest banking and finance, said five considerations guided the selection: religious neutrality, experience and interest, inclusiveness, local content, and cross-border expertise, Citi Newsroom reported. Graphic Online reported that the council’s role is largely advisory, meant to shore up governance and lower compliance and reputational risk as the sector takes shape. Its remit reaches beyond the central bank: it is also expected to support the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Insurance Commission, according to Citi Newsroom and MyJoyOnline.

Advisory, Not Supervisory

Speaking at the inauguration, Asiama presented non-interest finance as widening the menu of financial products open to individuals and businesses, and as a complement to conventional banking, Citi Newsroom reported. “Non-interest finance widens that choice. It is not free finance, but a complement to conventional banking and is based on trade, on leasing, on partnerships, and on asset-backed transactions,” he said, per Citi Newsroom. Asiama was equally explicit that the council’s brief isn’t unlimited: it advises, and it takes nothing away from the powers the Bank of Ghana and other sector regulators hold to supervise, enforce and regulate, according to Citi Newsroom. He warned members against waving a product through just because it is presented as non-interest, Citi Newsroom reported. “Products should not be accepted merely because they carry a non-interest label. Their structure, their risks, their costs, their obligations, these have to be transparent and capable of being understood by customers,” he said, according to MyJoyOnline. The Governor added that the central bank would keep drawing on international prudential standards and on what it has learned as a member of the Islamic Financial Services Board, Citi Newsroom reported.

A Nigerian Precedent, and a Pending First Licence

Umar advised the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria on non-interest banking between 2010 and 2014, a term that spanned Nigeria’s first non-interest bank licences, Daily Trust reported. He is a professor of Islamic studies and Sharia at Bayero University, Kano, and deputy chairman of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Financial Regulation Advisory Council of Experts, according to Daily Trust. At the ceremony he said Ghana could learn from Nigeria’s experience and pledged the council to professionalism, independence, and diligence, Graphic Online reported. The Halal Times has previously covered non-interest finance in Nigeria and Islamic banking regulation in Tanzania.

Ghana still doesn’t have a licensed non-interest bank. In May 2026, at the close of the 130th Monetary Policy Committee meeting, Asiama said a single indigenous bank had lodged a formal licence application, with four other financial institutions preparing to submit theirs, Graphic Online reported in May. “A lot has been done. Hopefully this year, we’ll see the first license,” he said then, per that same May report. The Bank of Ghana has also said the sector will serve Ghanaians of every faith, and that licensed institutions may not carry a religious affiliation, Daily Trust reported. Asiama called the inauguration the next practical step in the sector’s development, Graphic Online reported on August 20. Daily Trust, summarising those May remarks, reported that he hoped to see the first licence before 2026 was out.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Ghana’s Non-Interest Financial Advisory Council (NIFAC)?

NIFAC is a five-member advisory body chaired by Prof. Bashir Aliyu Umar, inaugurated by the Bank of Ghana at Bank Square in Accra on August 18, 2026, according to Graphic Online. It gives the central bank independent technical advice on non-interest banking, is expected to support the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Insurance Commission, and does not replace the Bank of Ghana’s own supervisory or enforcement powers, according to Citi Newsroom.

Who chairs Ghana’s Non-Interest Financial Advisory Council?

Prof. Bashir Aliyu Umar, a professor of Islamic studies and Sharia at Bayero University, Kano, chairs the council, according to Daily Trust. He was the Central Bank of Nigeria governor’s special adviser on non-interest banking between 2010 and 2014, Daily Trust reported, and Graphic Online reported that he was inaugurated as chair in Accra.

Has Ghana licensed any non-interest banks yet?

No. Ghana has not licensed a non-interest bank. Governor Johnson Pandit Asiama said in May 2026 that one bank had applied and four other financial institutions were preparing applications, and that he hoped to see the first licence before the year was out, according to Graphic Online’s May report and Daily Trust.

What law allows non-interest banking in Ghana?

Section 18(1)(r) of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930) gives financial institutions their legal foundation for offering non-interest banking services, according to Citi Newsroom. In January 2026 the Bank of Ghana published its Guidelines for the Regulation and Supervision of Non-Interest Banking in Ghana, setting out how the sector is to be regulated and supervised, according to Citi Newsroom.