Ezwich Goes To Ministries

THE EZWICH train will reach the Ministries area in Accra tomorrow when civil and public servants in the national capital are enrolled onto the national electronic platform.

The exercise, which will end on Friday, will eventually lead to the payment of salaries through the Ezwich cards since the public workers will be issued with the biometric smartcards.

Officials of the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GHIPSS), a subsidiary of the Bank of Ghana, who are implementing the e-zwich project, say all banks will set up their work stations at one location at the Ministries to enrol workers at the ministries departments and agencies in Accra.

GHIPSS say the decision to hold the mass registration for the civil and public servants is to enable workers who may not have the time to go to the banks, to get the smart card without hassle.

Government intends to eventually pay workers' salaries on the Ezwich card as part of efforts to reduce cash transactions in the country in line with global trends.

The three-day E-zwich exercise will therefore enable the workers to have the smart cards in readiness for this policy.

According to officials of GHIPSS, after this week's exercise, the next set of Ezwich enrolment event will be Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital.

With the increasing patronage of internet shopping and other e-commerce transactions which usually come at a discount, officials are hopeful that as many people will own and use the biometric smartcard.

Already, British Airways has announced plans to accept the E-zwich card for the purchase of its tickets.

From Business Desk