BoG to move bank payment systems to EMV

The Bank of Ghana(BoG) has announced plans to migrate all payment systems of banks in the country from magnetic chip to Europay-MasterCard-Visa( EMV) chip based cards this year.

The move is targeted at reducing fraud in electronic transactions such as debit and credit cards.

There have been calls in recent times for the central bank to boost the security features of electronic payment systems after fraudsters used magnetic cards to withdraw money from ATM Machines in Accra.

Speaking  at a press conference in Accra, the Second Deputy  Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Johnson Asiama assured that the migration of all banks to EMV chip based card will commenced this year.

He stated that the BoG will work closely with banks in the country to enable its smooth implementation.

“The Bank of Ghana in collaboration with the banking industry is  migrating all payments cards from magnet stripes standard to EMV chip and pin standard this year. This is to enhance security and reduce fraud in the industry,” he explained.

Touching on the need to entrench electronic payment systems in Ghana, Dr. Asiama stated that it times to use electronic payment system to reduce the large unbanked population.

Even though Ghana has achieved some gains in the expansion of electronic payment systems, Dr. Asiama was of the view that there is still more room for improvement, particularly as the informal sector grows.

“Notwithstanding this laudable achievement cash still dominate payment transactions and sadly. A large number of our people are excluded from the formal financial sector. A lot remains to be done to development the payment system in the regard”.

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By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana