Non-Interest Banking: A true Christian way of banking

The Bank of Ghana released THE GUIDELINE FOR THE REGULATION AND SUPERVISION OF NON-INTEREST BANKING IN GHANA on the 13th of January 2026. Consequently, and after various engagements with stakeholders and the general public, the Bank of Ghana inaugurated the Non- Interest Financial Advisory Council (NIFAC) on August, 18, 2026. The Bank of Ghana promises that, by the close of the year 2026, the first Non-interest Banking License will be issued. However, some issues have emerged with regard to concerns about Non- Interest Banking being a cunning, subtle and calculated attempt to promote shariah regulated Islamic Banking in a rather more Christian; albeit secular; country like Ghana. In addressing such concerns, the Bank of Ghana has been consistent in explaining that, Non-interest banking is not to be and will not be used as a vehicle to promote one religion over the other.

Noteworthy, to have helped dispel the seemingly unfortunate religious biases echoed by some skeptics with regards to the implementation of Non-interest banking in Ghana, the Bank of Ghana prior to the release of THE GUIDELINE FOR THE REGULATION OF NON-INTEREST BANKING, extensively engaged and solicited counsel from bodies like the Christian Council of Ghana, the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Ghana; just to mention a few prominent ones. It is a fact that in some jurisdictions, Non-interest banking is classified as Islamic banking. Others refer to it as ethical banking or alternative banking. This article seeks to explain in a very fundamental way why Non- interest banking is actually the true way of Christian banking, though it is termed Islamic banking in predominantly Islamic jurisdictions. To achieve this goal, this article first explains what…