Shortage of British Pound Sterling hits Accra and Kumasi

• Posted on June 26, 2014
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

There is a shortage of the British Pound Sterling in Forex bureaus in Accra and Kumasi.

The British Pound which is mostly used by students and educational institutions in making payments to United Kingdom-based institutions has seen some significant appreciation in the past months.

Most Forex bureaus visited said the shortage begun early this week.

The British Pound has proved to be one of the most attractive currencies for persons who want to take advantage of its increasing value.

In the past 6 six months, the British Pound has increased by over 35 percent from the beginning of the year.

Some Forex bureaus showed there was either little or no British pound sterling available.

The owners of these Forex bureaus say this is not an isolated case, the same can be said of other Forex bureaus located in some areas in Kumasi.

The Chief Accountant of Dee Dee Forex bureau in Adabraka, Ebenezer Ntow says, they started observing this after the bank of Ghana introduced the new foreign exchange rules in February.

“Because of the new policy the bank of Ghana brought, it is very difficult to get the foreign currency at the moment. It is very scarce,” he said.

Some other Forex bureau owners indicated, the Pound sterling is not widely used as a trading currency.

They indicate, most people who receive pounds in Ghana get them in the form of remittances from families abroad and hence with theincreasing rate, they are better off hoarding them.

-The Finder