Ghana’s year-to-date traffic for the use of SWIFT FIN messaging has recorded a growth of 32.1 percent.
Data released by SWIFT, a global financial messaging provider, yesterday at the 26th SWIFT African Regional Conference revealed that Ghana’s FIN messaging traffic growth was higher than the growth recorded in Nigeria at 24.5 percent.
Past analyses indicate that SWIFT data is closely correlated to economic activity, with rising SWIFT traffic volumes serving as an indicator of economic growth.
Traffic Growth in the West African Monetary Zone, increased by 29 percent, far exceeding SWIFT global traffic growth of 6.7 percent for the same period. Traffic in Africa has grown by 4.4 percent in the year-to-date.
According to the latest SWIFT figures, total traffic growth in Africa has decelerated since this time last year, when it reached 16.7 percent. This is likely driven by slower economic growth in several African countries, including South Africa.
Denis Kruger, Head of Sub-Sahara Africa, SWIFT said, “Africa is an important market for SWIFT and a critical component of our business. Even in the face of global economic challenges, many African countries continue to outperform SWIFT’s global traffic growth. Africa’s financial industry is a key enabler of economic development.
“The SWIFT African Regional Conference is therefore an important platform for financial services stakeholders from across Africa to share ideas and ultimately define the future of financial services in Africa.”
SWIFT traffic growth in South African Development Community (SADC) dropped to 1.6 percent from 17.4 percent in the same period in 2018. Traffic growth in South Africa specifically has slowed to 2.9 percent, down from 14.4 percent at this time last year.
The overall figure does not, however, reflect the strong results in many African markets. In addition to countries in West Africa seeing robust growth such as Gambia at 18.9 percent, Liberia at 13.8 percent and Sierra Leone at 22.6 percent, several markets in East Africa also experienced strong traffic growth. Kenya and Rwanda saw an increase of 9.4 percent and 37.1 percent respectively, versus the same period in 2018.
The data released indicates a growth projection for many markets in Africa and reflects the challenge that some others may be facing.
