Payment Systems Make Inroads

Managers of the national payments and settlements switch, the e-zwich, say they have made significant inroads in moving the country from cash-dependent transactions into a cashless society.

The Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems Ltd (GhIPSS) said it had all the commercial banks, the rural banks as well as the savings and loans companies fully on board and they were ready to play their various roles to make the system work.

The Chief Operating Officer of GhIPPS, Mr Yoku Korsah, told a section of the media in Accra that all 28 banks had connected to the e-zwich platform. Also connected to the platform are all 132 rural and community banks.

The platform, which is being executed in partnership with the financial institutions, is currently available in over 400 bank networks nationwide, representing about 65 per cent coverage out of the 628 bank branches across the country.

Although all 132 rural and community bank (RCBs) head offices had been connected, about 484 out of their 550 branches, representing 88 per cent had been covered, as eight out of the 15 savings and loans companies have been connected with 39 out of their 93 branches nationwide on the national payments switch.

On the whole, the system– introduced to make the economy more cashless, increase branchless banking, expand banking frontiers and reduce cost as well as improve cheque clearing had covered 1,102 branches out of 1,446, Mr Korsah stated.

He said the system had proven to be the fastest payment system in the country, aiding salaried workers to access their funds in record time and improving access to funds in the hinterlands of the country.

“Currently, we have the National Service Scheme and the National Youth Employment Programme using the e-zwich smartcards to pay allowances. We are also concluding arrangements with the Students Loan Trust to use the system”, Mr Korsah stated.

A major breakthrough for GhIPPS would be bringing on board the civil service, one of the largest employee constituents in the country; their connection to the system will not only improve access but lend major credibility to the system, which is currently partially suffering from Ghanaians’ inability to embrace change quickly.

The system works on a network of the system of various payment platforms in the country, starting from the initial partners, the banks, rural and commercial and savings and loans companies, which enables them to issue smartcards to customers who can load money on them and use them for transactions in any part of the country.

However, the cards operate on point-of-sale (P.O.S) devices operated by the banks and merchants to accept payment or load money. The cards work online and offline.

The Chief Executive Officer of GhIPPS, Mr Fredrick France, said the system was an effective way of mobilising funds and moving money into the banking system.

He said so far 2,425 merchants across the country had P.O.S with 310,000 card users enrolled, carrying a value of GH¢1.25 million.

To improve accessibility, Mr France said GhIPPS had started an exercise to enrol merchants such as cement dealers and shopowners in localities throughout the country.