‘Create legal framework to regulate crypto currencies’
AN accountant and business management software dealer has called on the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to create a regulatory framework to streamline the use of crypto currencies in the country.
Mr Justice Lartey, who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of software company Multisoft Solutions, said making crypto currencies legal would enhance the country’s integration into the global economy through a technology.
He said the BoG’s stance that crypto currencies — electronic currency units — was not the best, since the currencies were already gaining traction in many countries.
A crypto currency is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange, while eliminating other threats and difficulties such as counterfeiting.
Mr Lartey made the call in an interview with the Daily Graphic after a seminar on SAP One Business, a software the company launched in Accra.
He explained that legalising crypto currencies would position the central bank to effectively regulate and supervise digital assets (such as bitcoins) of Ghanaians.
“If you look at where Ghana is heading, I don’t think the Bank of Ghana will have monopoly in the next 10 to 15 years over the banking sector because currencies will no longer be physical but rather virtual, which will be traded worldwide,” he stated.
Awareness
Touching on the prospects of crypto currency, Mr Lartey advocated an intense awareness creation of the relevance of digital currency and its trends on a global level.
He said failure to embark on the awarenesss campaign might lead to job losses.
“Business advisors must increase the knowledge base of our local companies regarding the use of crypto currency and encourage them to play an active role in pushing the agenda,” he advised.
“If our taxi drivers in the transport industry knew that the advent of Uber will affect their businesses, I am sure they will have sought remedial policies to avert that situation,” he said quizzically.
Relevance of BoG
Mr Lartey stressed that the central bank must put in long-term measures if it yearned to maintain its status quo as a functioning financial institutions regulatory body in the country.
He advised that the BoG must embrace the wind of change and prepare adequately towards it before the crypto currency takes over as the number one mode of transacting business in the country.
“The cedi is not used in other parts of the world, unlike crypto currencies that have global recognition and are, therefore, forcing more Ghanaians to trade in it,” he stated.
Technology
A Business Development Specialist with MultiSoft Solutions, Mr Walid Belahmer, called on owners of companies to adopt a digital approach in growing their business.
He said that CEOs of businesses must go for business applications such as SAP One Business module, which ensured a wider reach, reduced errors in doing business, helped businesses to improve upon their productivity and ensured cost effectiveness in doing business.