How to Open a Fixed Deposit in Ghana and What It Actually Pays (2026)

What a fixed deposit actually is

A fixed deposit — banks in Ghana also call it a term deposit or a time deposit — is an agreement where you hand a bank a set amount of cedis for a set period, and the bank pays you a rate it fixes at the start. You cannot dip into the money during the term without breaking the contract. In exchange for giving up that access, you get two things a normal savings account does not give you: a materially higher rate, and certainty about what that rate will be for the whole term.

That second point matters more than most savers realise. Ghana has just come through one of the sharpest interest-rate swings in its recent history. The Bank of Ghana's policy rate was 28.00% in June 2025 and stands at 14.00% today, having been cut to that level on 18 March 2026 and held there since. When rates are falling that fast, locking a rate in is not a minor administrative detail — it is the whole product.

Tenors typically run from one month to twelve, with three, six and twelve months being the common choices. At maturity you either take the principal plus interest, or you roll it over into a new deposit at whatever rate applies on that day.

What fixed deposits actually pay in Ghana right now

This is the part where most articles wave vaguely at "attractive returns". Here are the real published numbers. The Bank of Ghana publishes industry-average deposit and lending rates every month in its Summary of Economic and Financial Data. From the July 2026 edition, the position in June 2026 was:

Read that table again, because it describes a situation that did not exist eighteen months ago. A three-month fixed deposit is paying roughly double what a savings account pays, and roughly double what a 91-day Treasury bill pays. In December 2024, the same 91-day bill paid 27.73% while the average fixed deposit paid the same 10.50% it pays now — Treasury bills crushed fixed deposits and it was not close. The collapse in Treasury yields since then has quietly flipped the ranking at the short end.

Two honest caveats. First, these are industry averages across all banks; the rate you are personally offered depends on the institution, the tenor and how much you are depositing, and it can land well above or below 10.50%. Second, that time-deposit average has sat at exactly 10.50% for every month in the published series, which tells you it is a slow-moving average rather than a live quote. Treat it as the benchmark to beat, not as a promise. Always get your actual rate in writing before you sign.

The tax rule that makes fixed deposits better than they look

Here is the detail that changes the arithmetic and that a surprising number of savers do not know: interest a Ghanaian bank pays you as an individual is exempt from income tax.

This is not a concession or an allowance with a cap. It is written into the statute. The Income Tax (Amendment) Act, 2016 (Act 907) amended section 7(1) of the Income Tax Act, 2015 (Act 896) by inserting a new paragraph (p), exempting "interest paid to an individual (i) by a resident financial institution; or (ii) on bonds issued by the Government of Ghana". The same amendment added paragraph (q), which exempts interest or dividends paid to a holder or member on an investment in an approved unit trust scheme or mutual fund. Act 907 was assented to and gazetted on 18 February 2016.

The practical effect is that a 10.50% fixed deposit is a 10.50% return, full stop. There is no withholding to deduct and nothing to declare on your return in respect of it. If you are used to thinking about gross-versus-net on your salary — and if you have read our guide on how PAYE works in Ghana, you will be — this is the rare case where gross and net are the same number.

Two boundaries are worth stating precisely. The exemption is for individuals, not companies; a business depositing surplus cash is in a different position. And it applies to a resident financial institution — a Ghanaian licensed bank. Interest from an offshore account is a separate question with its own rules.

Fixed deposit, savings account, T-bill or money market fund?

These four products get compared constantly and are genuinely different instruments.

A savings account keeps your money instantly available and currently averages 5.00%. That flexibility is worth paying for on your emergency fund, and nothing here argues otherwise. If you are still choosing where to bank at all, start with how to choose a bank account in Ghana.

A Treasury bill is a loan to the Government of Ghana rather than to a bank, so it carries sovereign rather than bank credit risk, and it is tradeable — you can sell before maturity on the secondary market, which a fixed deposit does not allow. At the most recent tender on 27 July 2026 the 91-day bill priced at an interest rate of 5.7881%, the 182-day at 7.6891% and the 364-day at 12.9670%. Note the shape of that: the 364-day bill at nearly 13% beats the average fixed deposit comfortably, while the 91-day at under 6% does not. Tenor is doing all the work. Our full walkthrough is at how to buy Treasury bills.

A money market fund pools your money with other investors into short-term instruments, is managed for you, and usually lets you exit within a few working days. Returns are variable rather than fixed, and the fund's fees come out before you see your yield. See money market funds explained.

The sensible construction for most households is not to pick a winner but to layer them: instant-access savings for the emergency fund, fixed deposits or bills for money you have a date for, and longer-term investing for everything beyond that — which is the ground covered in our complete guide to saving and investing in Ghana.

A worked example: ₵20,000 for six months

Take ₵20,000 you will not need until February. Interest on fixed deposits in Ghana is normally quoted per annum and calculated simple on the actual days in the term.

At the 10.50% six-month average, over 182 days: ₵20,000 × 10.50% × 182/365 = ₵1,047. Because of the Act 907 exemption, you keep all of it. You collect ₵21,047 at maturity.

Leave the same ₵20,000 in a savings account at 5.00% for the same 182 days and you earn ₵499. Buy a 91-day Treasury bill at the June average of 5.27% and roll it once, and you land near ₵526.

Now apply the honesty test that most savings articles skip. Headline inflation was 5.3% year-on-year in June 2026. Over 182 days, inflation at that pace erodes about ₵529 of your ₵20,000's purchasing power. So:

• Fixed deposit: ₵1,047 earned, roughly ₵518 ahead in real terms.
• Savings account: ₵499 earned, roughly ₵30 behind in real terms.

The fixed deposit is not just paying more. It is the difference between your money growing and your money standing still. You can run the same sum on your own numbers with our savings calculator.

One more figure, on breaking early. Suppose you hold that six-month deposit for four months and then need the cash, and your bank's break clause drops you to the savings rate. Four months at 10.50% would have been ₵696; at 5.00% it is ₵332. Breaking costs you around ₵364 — real money, and the single best argument for not depositing your emergency fund.

What you need to open one

Opening a fixed deposit is straightforward if you already bank with the institution, since your account is usually the funding and maturity route.

• Identification. The Ghana Card is the standard national ID and is what most banks will ask for. A passport is generally accepted as an alternative.
• An existing account, in most cases, at the same bank. Some institutions will open a fixed deposit for a new customer, but they will run full account-opening checks first.
• Proof of address, typically a recent utility bill or a landlord's letter, depending on the bank's requirements.
• The funds, transferred from your account or paid in.
• A signed deposit contract or advice, which is the document you must actually read.

Many banks now let existing customers open a fixed deposit entirely in the app or through internet banking. That is convenient, but the terms still bind you — do not click through a term sheet you have not read.

What to check before you sign

This is where a good fixed deposit is separated from a mediocre one, and it is all in the contract.

The rate, in writing, for your tenor and your amount. Not the poster rate, not the rate for ₵500,000 when you are depositing ₵20,000.

Whether interest is simple or compounded, and when it is paid. Some deposits pay interest monthly into your current account; others accumulate it to maturity. On a short tenor the difference is small, but you should know which you have.

The early-withdrawal clause. There is no Bank of Ghana-set penalty — this is purely a contract term, and it varies a lot. Some banks pay the savings rate for the period held; some forfeit accrued interest entirely; some charge a break fee. Ask specifically and get the answer in the document.

The rollover default. Many contracts roll over automatically at maturity at the then-prevailing rate unless you instruct otherwise. In a falling-rate environment like this one, an automatic rollover can quietly re-book your money at a much lower rate. Diarise your maturity date.

Whether the institution is licensed by the Bank of Ghana, and whether it is a bank or a specialised deposit-taking institution. That distinction is not academic — see the next section. If an outfit is offering you an eye-watering "fixed deposit" rate and you cannot find it on the BoG register, you are looking at the pattern described in how to spot an unlicensed lender and how to avoid investment scams in Ghana.

Deposit protection: the gap between banks and SDIs

If the institution fails, the Ghana Deposit Protection Corporation compensates depositors — but the ceiling depends on what kind of institution it was. Per the GDPC's own published FAQs, under the Ghana Deposit Protection Act, 2016 (Act 931) as amended by Act 968: the maximum compensation payable to a depositor of a bank is ₵6,250, and to a depositor of a specialised deposit-taking institution is ₵1,250.

Those are small numbers relative to a serious fixed deposit, and the five-fold gap between the two categories is the point. A savings-and-loans company or a rural bank offering you two percentage points more than a universal bank is also offering you a fifth of the protection ceiling. That may still be a trade you want to make — but make it knowingly. Note also that the GDPC Board began a review of these limits in 2026 under the amending legislation, so confirm the current figure with the GDPC before relying on it. Our fuller treatment is at GDPC deposit protection explained.

The cedi question

A fixed deposit fixes your cedi rate. It does not fix what a cedi buys, and it does nothing about the exchange rate. If the money you are saving is earmarked for something priced in dollars — school fees abroad, imported stock, a trip — then a 10.50% cedi return can still leave you worse off if the currency moves against you over the term. That is a separate risk requiring a separate decision, and we cover the options in protecting your money from cedi depreciation. For cedi-denominated goals, though, a 10.50% fixed rate against 5.3% inflation is a solidly positive real return, and those have been rare in Ghana.

Frequently asked questions

Do I pay tax on fixed deposit interest in Ghana? No. Interest paid to an individual by a resident financial institution is exempt from income tax under section 7(1)(p) of the Income Tax Act, 2015 (Act 896), as inserted by the Income Tax (Amendment) Act, 2016 (Act 907). The exemption is for individuals; companies are treated differently.

Can I withdraw before maturity? Usually yes, but at a cost set by your contract rather than by regulation. Expect to lose some or all of the accrued interest. Ask for the exact clause before you deposit, and never fix money you might genuinely need.

Is a fixed deposit better than a Treasury bill? Right now, at the short end, generally yes on rate — the June 2026 averages were 10.50% for a three-month deposit against 5.27% for a 91-day bill. At twelve months the picture reverses: the 364-day bill priced at 12.9670% on 27 July 2026. Bills are also tradeable before maturity and carry government rather than bank risk. Compare by tenor, not in the abstract.

What is the minimum to open one? There is no centrally published minimum; each institution sets its own, and they range widely. Ask before you plan around a number.

Are both interest and principal protected if the bank fails? GDPC coverage applies to the deposit including accrued interest, but only up to the applicable ceiling — ₵6,250 at a bank, ₵1,250 at an SDI. Amounts above that are not covered.

Should I split a large deposit across several banks? Spreading deposits does multiply your protection ceilings, but with a bank ceiling of ₵6,250 you would need an impractical number of banks to cover a large sum. For most savers the more useful protection is institution quality: deposit with a well-capitalised, BoG-licensed bank rather than chasing the last percentage point at a marginal one.

Reviewed 2 August 2026. Rates cited are Bank of Ghana published industry averages for June 2026 and Treasury bill tender rates for 27 July 2026; deposit rates offered to you individually will differ, and all rates move. Confirm current figures with the Bank of Ghana, the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ghana Deposit Protection Corporation.

This article is general information, not financial advice. Your circumstances are specific to you — consider speaking to a licensed adviser before committing funds.