Accra, Sept 27, GNA - Most financial institutions across the country have now been hooked onto the e-zwich cards system and are issuing them to their clients for safe and improved transactions. Mr Archie Hesse, General Manager in-charge of Project and Business Development at the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) said this in an interaction with newsmen in Accra. Mr Hesse said 93While some of these financial institutions carry out this exercise intermittently, others have constituted their staff into team= s and have been moving round the country to register new customers and issue them with the cards."

He therefore described the enrolment and issue of the e-zwich cards as a major deposit mobilization tool for financial institutions as it enabled them to rope in new customers.

He said micro finance companies and credit unions had also joined the league of financial institutions using the e-zwich cards to mobilize deposits as well as boost their lending business. "Though they rely on universal banks for the issuance of cards, thes= e savings and loans companies attract customers with the biometric card because their customers consider it a safer and more convenient way of making their daily savings popularly called Susu".

Mr Hesse spoke of a emerging trend where micro finance institutions were partnering with the major banks to use e-zwich to mobilize deposits from micro enterprises and low income earners.

He said some of these financial institutions had significantly increased their customer base over a short period of time through the e-zwich card enrolment and issuance exercise.

He therefore, encouraged the business development managers of the various financial institutions to acquaint themselves with the e-zwich offerings and device their in-house strategy to mobilize more deposits as well as increase their revenue. Mr Hesse expressed the hope that the main aim of e-zwich, which is to bank the unbanked, was being achieved gradually emphasizing that the business opportunities that e-zwich presented were varied and profitable.