There’s a mini controversy brewing between the crypto platform YellowCard and a Ghanaian fintech company called HanyPay.
After a public notice by Ghana’s finance regulator, YellowCard has had to publicly clarify its position on the matter.
Here’s a timeline of the YellowPay / HanyPay regulatory issue in Ghana:
Timeline of Events
Late 2024
YellowCard, in a statement posted yesterday, stated that HanyPay had initially started an onboarding and integration process with Yellow Card for use of its Payments API in late 2024.
However, the company states that the process was never “completed“.
February 12th, 2025
- On February 12th, 2025, multiple media outlets published a story titled, “Hanypay Ghana Ltd. integrates with Yellow Card to advance financial inclusion across Africa“.
- In the story, Hanypay claimed to have integrated with Yellow Card’s platform to enhance user accessibility and convenience in managing digital transactions.
- Hanypay stated that with the partnership, they aimed to expand to multiple countries, including Botswana, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, DR Congo, and Gabon.
June 5th, 2025
In a blog post on Yellow Card’s website, the company stated that there was no partnership between Yellow Card and Hanypay Ghana Ltd in Ghana or any other jurisdiction. In the post, Yellow Card stated:
“Yellow Card has not signed any agreements or conducted any transactions with Hanypay Ghana Ltd.”
“HanyPay started an onboarding and sandbox integration process for use of Yellow Card’s Payments API in late 2024. In order to commence that process, just like hundreds of other prospective Payments API customers, HanyPay executed Yellow Card’s standard form Payments API agreement, not an agreement for any partnership or collaboration with respect to a new stablecoin or otherwise.
HanyPay, however, never completed the onboarding and sandbox integration process.”
June 11, 2025
- The Bank of Ghana (BoG) officially warned the public and financial institutions against using YellowPay(YellowCard) and HanyPay, stating that neither is licensed or authorized to operate in Ghana.
- In response, Yellow Card issued a public statement addressing the BoG notice , stating that they had previously informed the Bank of Ghana about the issue.
Discrepancies with the African Diaspora Central Bank
In the middle of the controversy is an entity called the Africa Diaspora Central Bank (ADCB).
In the press release by HanyPay about the alleged YellowCard partnership, the company claimed it was licensed by the ADCB to distribute AKL Lumi, a digital currency rooted in sustainability and economic inclusion.
Review of the HanyPay website shows “basic” information with no detail about the company’s registration, its fees, or in-depth detail on how the platform works.
Checks on the ADCB website also show its contact information to be “vague”, with a map location showing the “London Eye” as its office location.
