Very soon, traders and restaurant operators in Ghana would accept payment through Point of Sale (POS) machines, as all is set for massive deployment of the POS that will kick-start the national switch, the e-zwich, which would link the payment systems of all banks, savings and loans as well as rural banks in Ghana.

The move means the nation is gradually moving from cash into a cashless society.

With the e-zwich, one can perform various banking and retail functions including cash withdrawals, payments for goods and services, money transfers and bills payment from any POS or ATM across the country.

CITY & BUSINESS GUIDE gathers that a South African Company has been selected, out of seven firms to begin the installation of the POS from the beginning of next month since test for the software has been completed.

According to Yorku Korsah, Chief Operating Officer of the Ghana Interbank Payment Settlement Systems (GIPSS), a subsidiary of the Bank of Ghana, universal banks and financial institutions have gone through the first phase of the training with the merchant.

The e-zwich smartcard, which allows smartcard holders to spend and settle various transactions online and offline, is a new very secure way of paying for goods and services throughout the country, based on the biometric or finger print identification.

Briefing some financial journalists, Chief Executive Officer of GIPSS, Fred Franc said immediately the automated teller machines (ATMs) are configured to be e-zwich compliant, it could accommodate all cards such as biometric, master cards, visa cards among others.

He however urged banks to position themselves to ensure that their ATMs are Universal Electronic Payment System (UEPS) compliant.

Earlier, the Bank of Ghana directed all banks including rural banks to integrate all existing switches into the e-zwich as well as issue e-zwich smartcards to each individual personal customer by June 30, 2008, which still holds.

The new payment system will lure the “unbanked” segment of the population to save with banks.

By Charles Nixon Yeboah