Ghana is working to develop offline capabilities for its forthcoming key banking company digital currency (CBDC) in a bid to promote its use across all segments of Ghanaian society.

According to a Monday report from Bloomberg, Kwame Oppong, head of fintech and innovation at the Bank of Republic of ghana (BoG), revealed that the country's digital currency "e-cedi" will support offline transactions during the Ghana Economic Forum on Monday.

Oppong emphasized that offline functionality will allow Ghanaians who lack reliable access to electricity and cyberspace connectivity to comprehend the country's CBDC, stating:

"The e-cedi would also exist capable of being used in an offline environment through some smart cards."

A smart card is a plastic credit card-sized card with a chip that allows its user to transact using a pre-loaded rest. A like system has been trialed by Oxfam to facilitate payments using the decentralized stablecoin Dai to provide relief from environmental disasters.

According to World Bank data published in 2022, 84% of Ghanaians and then had stable admission to electricity, while just 53% were continued to the net.

Related: G7 leaders issue central bank digital currency guidelines

In August, the BoG appear information technology had partnered with High german financial firm Giesecke+Devrient to pilot a retail CBDC in Ghana.

The announcement came but one month afterward Ghanaian Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia advocated for African governments to embrace digital currencies as means to eternalize merchandise beyond the continent during the Fifth Ghana International Trade and Finance Conference in July.

Local adoption of decentralized cryptocurrencies is also on the rising, with analytics house Chainalysis reporting that Africa's cryptocurrency market has grown by more than ane,200% since 2022 as of terminal month.