How to complain about a bank or mobile money provider in Ghana

A complaint about a bank, savings and loans, microfinance company, mobile money provider or other firm the Bank of Ghana licenses goes through three steps, in order:

1. The firm itself
2. The Bank of Ghana, if the firm does not put it right
3. The courts

The Bank of Ghana will expect you to have tried the first step, so start there even if you think it is hopeless.

Step 1: the bank or provider

• Complain in writing - email, the app’s complaint form, or a letter handed in at a branch - and get a reference number or a stamped copy. A complaint made only by phone or at the counter leaves no trace.
• Say what happened, with dates, amounts and transaction references, and what you want: a refund, a reversal, a correction, an apology.
• Attach what proves it: statements, screenshots, SMS alerts, receipts.
• Give a date by which you expect an answer, and follow up when it passes.

For a mobile money transfer that went wrong, call the provider’s customer service at once, then put it in writing. Speed matters most when money has gone to the wrong person.

Step 2: the Bank of Ghana

If the firm does not resolve it, or you are not satisfied with its answer, complain to the Bank of Ghana’s complaints office:

Send a short account, your contact details, the firm’s name, your complaint reference with it, and copies of everything. The Bank of Ghana takes up the complaint with the firm; in 2023 it got refunds of millions of cedis for complainants.

Step 3: court

If the Bank of Ghana’s process does not resolve it, you can take legal action. A lawyer can advise whether the amount justifies it; the Legal Aid Commission helps those who cannot pay.

Not the Bank of Ghana’s

— Ghana’s regulators, and who to complain to — Checking a firm is licensed — Mobile money