The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has urged businesses, traders and the public to recognise and accept Ghana cedi coins as legal tender for all business transactions, warning that rejecting them constitutes an offence punishable by law.
A statement issued and signed by Ms Aimee Vyda Quashie, Secretary to the BoG, said refusing to sell a product to a buyer simply because the buyer was paying with coins amounted to an offence.
It said the only exception was where a particular coin or banknote was no longer recognised as legal tender.
The statement warned that offenders could face a fine, imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or both.
“Deliberately encouraging, helping, or instructing another person to commit this offence is punishable in the same way,” it said.
According to the statement, a business owner who instructed staff to reject cedi coins would be liable to the same punishment as if the person had committed the offence personally.
It added that a person found committing the offence could be arrested without a warrant.
The BoG advised businesses and members of the public to desist from rejecting cedi coins in commercial transactions.
It said the Bank was working closely with the Police and other law enforcement agencies to ensure that appropriate action was taken against individuals or businesses found culpable.
The statement encouraged the public to report incidents of refusal to accept cedi coins to the nearest BoG office, the Police or through the Bank’s official communication channels.
It urged individuals, businesses and institutions to support the use of the national currency in all its denominations by accepting and transacting with it responsibly.
