Accra: Mrs Matilda Asante-Asiedu, second deputy governor of the Bank of Ghana, has emphasized the critical importance of service quality, innovation, and cybersecurity in modern banking. Speaking at a training session organized by the Financial Stability Department, Mrs Asante-Asiedu called for a renewed commitment to customer-centric practices and stronger internal controls across the industry. The session was attended by stakeholders in Ghana's financial sector, including representatives from the Ghana Association of Banks, PwC, and the Bank of Ghana, as well as consumer reporting officers and compliance professionals.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mrs Asante-Asiedu stated, 'The fact that we're here today, investing resources in this training, should tell you how critical service quality delivery is for the Central Bank.' She emphasized the importance of engaging with banks beyond just issuing guidelines, highlighting the value of learning and improving collectively. She shared a personal anecdote from a recent trip to Spain, where a failed card transaction nearly disrupted her shopping experience, illustrating the real-world impact of service failures.
Mrs Asante-Asiedu highlighted that even small lapses in service, such as the 2% downtime often overlooked in performance metrics, can significantly affect customers. She noted, 'That 2% could actually be 10,000 customers impacted by poor service.' The event's theme, 'Excellence in Service, Innovation in Delivery, Security in Practice,' was described as the cornerstone of modern banking. She underlined the rising expectations of consumers for fairness, speed, and professionalism, particularly in complaint handling.
She cited data showing a 7% increase in complaints to the Bank of Ghana in 2024, from 695 to 743 cases, urging banks to enhance internal collaboration and responsiveness. Additionally, she addressed the increasing threat of fraud in the digital banking era, with over 16,700 cases reported in 2024 and losses nearing 100 million Ghanaian cedis. Alarmingly, 33% of these cases involved bank staff, prompting a call for greater vigilance, ethics, and discipline.
Mrs Asante-Asiedu encouraged banks to utilize the Bank of Ghana's regulatory sandbox to test new solutions and stressed the importance of integrating cybersecurity into daily operations. She stated, 'No level of innovation or service quality will offset poor security,' emphasizing that service excellence and security are collective responsibilities. She urged the industry to recommit to fairness, transparency, and customer care, asserting that the strength of the banking system lies not just in profits, but in customer treatment.
Dr Kwasi Osei-Yeboah, Head Financial Stability Department, BoG, in his welcome address, described the workshop as a platform for action, aimed at improving service delivery, driving innovation with purpose, and reinforcing trust through transparency and security.