GT Bank Ghana has issued a statement in response to concerns raised by customers regarding recent account debits. The bank clarified that the affected customers had transacted and traded in cryptocurrencies.
According to the statement, the debits were the result of the FX differential between the unapproved FX rates applied on the crypto trading platforms and the standard FX rates applicable to all other valid transactions advised by the bank. GTBank Ghana has taken steps to engage individual customers who were involved in these transactions.
The bank emphasized that it is a business operating under the laws of the financial industry and will not cause its customers dissatisfaction in any regard. The statement also referred to public notices issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Bank of Ghana (BoG) that cryptocurrencies are not an approved legal tender in Ghana and the general public has been warned to desist from transacting in them as doing so is at their own risk.
The online platforms on which they are traded have not been issued any license and for that matter, are not regulated, and all merchants and platforms offering such cryptocurrencies are to be reported to the SEC Ghana for necessary action.
GTBank Ghana also stated that all other non-crypto-based transactions are not impacted by the FX differential debit. However, if any customer has experienced any debit transactions other than the aforementioned (Binance, etc.), they are advised to call the bank on 0800 124 000 for immediate support.