Ghanaians Encouraged to Adopt Digital Payments

Ghana’s Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has emphasized the importance of digital payment platforms in today’s world of technological advancement, during the launch of the Phase-Two of the Mobile Money Interoperability Payment System

In his words, the electronic payment system has grown increasingly over the last decades due to the growing spread of internet-based banking and shopping, it has now become easier to pay for goods and services through an electronic medium, without the use of checks or carrying cash.

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, then admonished Ghanaians to adopt electronic payment as a way of life, as the nation had reached an era of electronic payment, therefore, there was no choice but to go with the tide in order to fast-track the transformation of the economy.

The launch of the Phase-Two of the Interoperability System has, therefore, completed the interconnection between mobile money and the e-switch Payment System to the Ghana National Link Switch, which implies that customers could conveniently move funds seamlessly across all three platforms – bank accounts, mobile money and e-switch and vice versa.

The Phase-One of the Interoperability System which launched on May 10 this year, by Vice President Bawumia at the Accra Marriot Hotel, saw the interconnection of the mobile money platforms and Ghana National Link Switch (gh-link system).

According to the Ghana Inter-Bank Payment and Settlement System, 1.4 million transactions have been recorded, valued at GHc140 million as at October this year.

Vice President Bawumia, therefore, urged the Fintechs to take advantage of the Interoperability System to collaborate with the banks and other financial institutions to offer novelty products and services to customers.

According to him, “Interoperability System would improve financial inclusion by bridging the gap between the banked and unbanked population, it should also translate into quick turnaround for businesses because producers, wholesalers and retailers can receive funds in real time in order to deliver the goods to customers, regardless of which part of the country they find themselves”

He noted that the initiatives were in sync with other programmes being rolled out by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s government to hasten the digitisation of the economy.

He, therefore, emphasized on the need to take a second look at the ceiling placed on transfer of money via mobile money and other security aspects so that the system that is expected to remove the constraints people encounter in trying to move funds around in real time, integrate the banked and unbanked population, and also end the Financial Inclusion Triangle is not compromised.

Vice President Bawumia, however, suggested a Third-Phase of the Interoperability System, proposing that a mobile money agent or merchant with one phone SIM card should be able to load electronic funds onto the wallet of the customer, regardless of the customer’s network.

The launch, which took place at the GhIPSS Headquarters in Accra, attracted key stakeholders in the electronic payment system including boards, managements and chief executive officers of the Ghana inter-bank Payment and Settlement System, Ghana Telecommunications Chamber and telecommunication and financial institutions.