From SMS to WhatsApp OTPs: Why Ghana’s Banking Industry Needs a Regulatory Reset -

By Prof. Samuel Lartey

Introduction

Ghana’s financial ecosystem is rapidly moving from traditional banking towards a digitally connected economy.

The growing call by banks for the Bank of Ghana (BoG), as regulator, to recognise WhatsApp as an additional channel for delivering One Time Passwords (OTPs) alongside SMS therefore deserves serious policy consideration.

The proposal is not about replacing SMS. It is about creating a secure, resilient and customer-centred multi-channel authentication framework that reflects how Ghanaians increasingly communicate and transact.

Ghana’s Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 (Act 772) already establishes that electronic records should not be denied evidential status merely because they are electronic.

This provides an important legal foundation, although legal admissibility does not automatically mean that every WhatsApp communication is suitable for financial authentication.

The economic case for change

Ghana’s digital economy has reached a scale where authentication failures can have measurable economic consequences. Mobile money transactions alone reached GH¢493.2 billion across 967 million transactions in April 2026.

The Bank of Ghana’s National Payment Systems Strategy 2025 to 2029 explicitly seeks a payment ecosystem that facilitates seamless and secure transactions. A regulated WhatsApp OTP channel could complement that objective.

Stakeholder	Potential impact
Government	Supports digitalisation, financial inclusion and cashless transactions
Banks	Reduces dependence on a single authentication channel and improves customer experience
Businesses	Faster transaction completion and potentially fewer abandoned digital transactions
Investors	Strengthens confidence in Ghana’s digital financial infrastructure
Households	Greater convenience, accessibility and authentication choice

Why WhatsApp deserves consideration

The economic argument is straightforward. If WhatsApp authentication improves successful transaction completion by only 2%, and even a fraction of Ghana’s enormous digital transaction volume is affected, the cumulative economic value can be substantial.

For example, a simplified econometric framework could model transaction completion as:

Transaction Success = f(SMS reliability, WhatsApp availability, network quality, customer behaviour, fraud controls and authentication speed).

Holding other factors constant, adding an independent authentication channel should reduce the probability that a failed SMS delivery results in a failed transaction, provided that WhatsApp itself is securely integrated.

However, convenience must never outrun cybersecurity. Ghana’s Cyber Security Authority has warned about malware capable of stealing banking credentials and OTPs through WhatsApp-related attacks. The Bank of Ghana has also recently reinforced public education that financial institutions do not request sensitive credentials such as passwords and PINs through ordinary communication channels.

The role of the Ghana Association of Banks

The Ghana Association of Banks (GAB) is strategically positioned to lead a coordinated industry initiative. GAB represents 24 member institutions and serves as the banking industry’s advocacy and networking platform.

It should therefore:

Establish a Banking Digital Authentication Working Group involving banks, BoG, Cyber Security Authority, Data Protection Commission, telecommunications operators and relevant technology providers.
Develop common technical and security standards for WhatsApp OTP delivery.
Conduct controlled industry pilots before national implementation.
Establish fraud monitoring, customer consent, audit trails, encryption, transaction limits and emergency suspension protocols.
Develop a unified public education campaign explaining that legitimate OTPs must never be disclosed to another person.

Conclusion

The debate should not be SMS versus WhatsApp. It should be about building a stronger authentication ecosystem in which customers have secure alternatives without weakening regulatory controls.

Ghana has already demonstrated that digital finance can transform economic participation. The next step is to ensure that regulation evolves at the same speed as technology. If GAB provides the collective leadership and BoG establishes rigorous supervisory standards, WhatsApp OTPs could become a carefully controlled additional channel that improves resilience, inclusion and customer experience while supporting Ghana’s wider digital transformation agenda.