body-container-line-1
31.03.2009 Business & Finance

Veep lauds BoG for introducing electronic payments

31.03.2009 LISTEN
By Chris Twum - Ghanaian Chronicle

The Vice President, Mr. John Mahama, has commended Bank of Ghana (BoG) for introducing a common platform for electronic payments and transactions through e-Zwich into the country.

Mr. Mahama said the use of any electronic transaction as a common platform for financial sector would reduce the need for cash as well as enhance the creation of credit in the country.

He made this observation at the launch of the e-Tranzact Ghana, in Accra, over the weekend.

Mr. Mahama said the use of ITT products to simplify and speed up financial transactions has become a part of every day life in the developed world, whereas several parts of Africa had no such experience.

He used the occasion to welcome e-Trazact Ghana into the country's' growing economy.

“I have a firm believe that businesses and people in the country will benefit from the service delivery, which has performed creditably well in other African countries”, he said.

Veep Mahama said the government and the people of Ghana were committed to entrenching constitutional rule and multi party democracy as the safer political aberration for social and economic progress.

“We believe in building a strong and vibrant indigenous private sector and also welcome partnership with the inclusion of foreign investors”, he said.

The Vice President hinted that the role of e-Trazact Ghana is to create an efficient electronic platform together with e-zwich, for banks to offer modern services to make business transactions easier and faster.

Mr. Mahama, however, noted that, the government was in favour of businesses that conducted fair in social and responsive manner, adding “BoG is up to its task and governments shall fulfil its part of the bargain”.

He urged managements of e-Trazact to extend its operations to all parts of the country to enable it benefit from fast and efficient use of electronic payment, adding “This will obviously inject more sophistication to sectors such as agriculture, which employs about 60 per cent of the countries population”.

Dr. Paul Acquah, the Governor of the BoG, said there was the need for industry players to build on the foundation of robust and resilient financial system to enable them delivers efficient and cost effective services to promote a well-balanced economic growth which would be able to withstand turbulences.

Dr. Acquah noted that the branchless banking framework being developed with the e-zwich platform is an essential component of the Ghana Interbanking Payments and Settlement System (GhIPSS), which offered various opportunities.

“This allows us to operate in a higher dimension of technology to provide a wide range of services to the public. It also opens door to the unbanked segment of the populace, including those who cannot read or write in the urban as well as rural areas”, he added.

body-container-line