Bank Charges to Watch For in Ghana — What's Banned and What's Still Legal (2026)

Why fees matter as much as the interest rate

Two accounts paying the same interest can leave you with very different amounts of money at the end of the year, because interest is only one side of the ledger. The other side is what the bank charges you to move, hold, or access your own money — and those charges are far less visible than an advertised rate, because they show up one line item at a time on a statement most people don't read closely. Ghana's regulator has spent real effort narrowing what banks can charge for, and it's worth knowing exactly what that effort covers, because it draws a clear line between a fee you should never be paying and one that's simply the cost of banking.

What the Bank of Ghana banned outright in 2021

On 18 June 2021, the Bank of Ghana issued Notice No. BG-GOV-SEC-2021-12 under Section 3 of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930), directing every bank and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institution (SDI) to stop seven specific practices. If any of these show up on your statement today, it's not a grey area — the regulator has already ruled on it.

1. Credit insurance premium overcharges. When a lender requires you to take out credit insurance against death, disability or job loss as a condition of a loan, the bank must pass on the same premium the insurance underwriter actually charges — not a marked-up figure it pockets the difference on.

2. Maintenance fees on savings accounts. Banks were ordered to stop charging a recurring "account maintenance fee" on savings accounts. The Bank of Ghana's own stated reason is worth knowing: it found the practice was driving savings accounts into debit and working directly against financial inclusion — a fee eating a small balance down to nothing defeats the point of a savings account.

3. Over-the-counter withdrawal and balance-inquiry charges. A bank cannot penalise you for withdrawing your own money in the banking hall below some threshold, and it cannot charge you just to ask what your balance is at the counter.

4. Change of ownership of collateral documents. If you've secured a loan against a movable asset — a vehicle, equipment, stock — the bank cannot require you to transfer legal ownership of that asset into the bank's own name (or joint names) as a condition of the loan. The asset stays yours; the bank holds it as security, not as owner.

5. Interest applied to penal charges. If you fall behind on a loan and the bank applies a penalty rate, it must stop there — it cannot then charge additional interest on top of the penalty itself, compounding a punishment into a second one.

6. Monthly interest rate quotation. Banks must quote interest on credit facilities on an annual basis, not a monthly one. A monthly figure sounds small and can understate what a loan actually costs once you multiply it out — quoting annually is meant to stop that.

7. Third-party deposit and withdrawal violations. Anyone depositing or withdrawing on an account must sign the slip themselves with their own details captured, rather than a bank allowing an unrecorded third party to move money through someone else's account.

If a bank charges you any of the above, that's grounds to raise a formal complaint — see the section on recourse below.

What's still legal — and what to actually check

The 2021 notice narrowed unfair charges; it didn't abolish banking fees altogether. What's left is mostly the ordinary cost of running an account and moving money, and it varies bank to bank, so the only reliable way to compare is to ask each bank for its current tariff guide before you commit. Categories to specifically ask about:

• Transaction and transfer fees — moving money by RTGS, GhIPSS instant pay, or between your account and mobile money wallets. These are usually tiered by amount, and a fee that looks trivial on a single transfer can add up fast if you move money often.
• ATM fees — usually free on your own bank's machines, but often charged when you withdraw from another bank's ATM network. If you travel between towns with different bank footprints, this is worth checking specifically.
• Card issuance and replacement fees — a first card is sometimes free; a lost-card replacement almost always isn't.
• SMS and app alert fees — a small recurring charge some banks apply for transaction notifications, easy to overlook because it's usually only a few cedis at a time.
• Chequebook fees — charged per book, not per cheque, and increasingly irrelevant if you bank digitally, but still worth knowing if your business still writes cheques.
• Loan processing, arrangement, and early-settlement fees — a percentage charged upfront to process a facility, and sometimes a separate charge if you pay a loan off faster than scheduled. Ask for both before you sign, not after.
• Foreign currency and international transfer fees — a flat charge plus, often, a less favourable exchange rate than the interbank rate; the effective cost is usually the exchange-rate spread, not just the stated fee. If you send or receive money internationally often, this is where real money leaks out — see how to send money to Ghana for a fuller breakdown.

Comparing the true cost of a loan, not just the fees

For borrowing specifically, the number that matters most is the Annualised Percentage Rate (APR), which the Bank of Ghana describes as "the true cost of a loan that economic agents are confronted with when they go through an approval process to secure a loan facility." The APR is meant to fold interest and the various fees a lender charges into one comparable annual figure, which is exactly why the 2021 notice bans quoting a bare monthly rate instead — a monthly number hides the fee load an APR is built to expose. The Bank of Ghana publishes APR data by loan category (household, SME, corporate) on its website; check the current release before comparing offers, since rates move with the policy environment. The personal loan comparison page and the personal loan calculator are useful for putting a real number on what a facility costs you before you take it — and how to get a personal loan in Ghana covers what lenders check before approving one in the first place.

Mobile money charges deserve their own check

If most of your money moves through MTN MoMo, Telecel Cash or AT Money rather than a bank branch, the charges that matter most are cash-out fees and interoperability charges when sending between networks or into a bank account — a separate fee structure from anything above. How to reduce mobile money charges covers that ground in detail and is worth reading alongside this one if mobile money is your main channel.

How to actually compare accounts on cost

Ask every bank you're considering for its current fees and charges schedule in writing before opening an account — not a verbal summary from a branch officer. Compare the same categories across each option: transfer fees, ATM fees outside their own network, card fees, and (if relevant to you) loan processing and early-settlement charges. A bank offering a slightly lower headline savings rate but genuinely fee-light day-to-day banking often beats one with a marginally better rate buried under charges. The bank accounts comparison page is a starting point for lining several institutions up before you commit, and if you decide to move, how to switch bank accounts in Ghana walks through doing it without a gap in service.

What to do if you're charged something on the banned list

Raise it with the bank's complaints desk first, in writing, citing Bank of Ghana Notice No. BG-GOV-SEC-2021-12 if the charge matches one of the seven items above. Every regulated bank is required to have an internal complaints process, and it must respond within a set timeframe. If it isn't resolved, you can escalate to the Bank of Ghana as the supervisor of banks and SDIs. Keep your statement showing the charge and any correspondence — that's what the complaint actually gets resolved on.

Frequently asked questions

Can a bank still charge me for maintaining a savings account? No. The Bank of Ghana explicitly banned maintenance fees on savings accounts in its June 2021 notice, citing the effect on financial inclusion. If you're still being charged one, raise it directly with the bank and escalate if it isn't corrected.

Is it legal for a bank to charge me for withdrawing my own money over the counter? No — over-the-counter withdrawal penalties and balance-inquiry charges below a set threshold are both on the banned list.

Why does a monthly interest rate matter if I'm just comparing numbers? Because a monthly rate looks smaller than the true annual cost and is easy to under-compare against a properly quoted annual rate. The Bank of Ghana requires annual quoting for exactly this reason — always convert to an annual or APR basis before comparing two loan offers.

Are transfer and ATM fees also banned? No — those weren't part of the 2021 abolition. They're legitimate charges that vary by bank, which is why comparing the actual fee schedule before opening an account matters more than comparing headline interest rates alone.

What's the fastest way to check if a fee I'm being charged is legitimate? Ask the bank directly which policy or tariff item the charge falls under. If it matches one of the seven practices the Bank of Ghana banned in 2021, it isn't legitimate regardless of what the bank's internal tariff guide says.

Does this apply to mobile money charges too? The 2021 notice covers banks and SDIs specifically. Mobile money charges from MTN, Telecel and AT are governed separately — see the linked mobile money guide above for that specific charge structure.

This article was last reviewed on 2 August 2026 against Bank of Ghana Notice No. BG-GOV-SEC-2021-12 and the Bank of Ghana's published APR guidance. It is general information, not financial advice — request each bank's current, written fees and charges schedule before opening an account or taking a loan.