Bank of Ghana introduces ECOWAS Cheques

Accra, Sept 24, GNA - The Bank of Ghana announced on Friday it has started distributing ECOWAS Travellers Cheques to authorised dealers and that the cheques are available in five denominations of the West African Unit of Account (WAUA).

"Residents wishing to travel to any of the 16 ECOWAS member-countries can now purchase cheques from banks anywhere in Ghana and use them to pay for their transactions in these countries," a Bank of Ghana statement said.

The cheques are available in are WAUA, 10 WAUA, 20 WAUA, 50 WAUA and 100 WAUA. A Unit of WAUA is equal to one Special Drawing Right (SDR) of the International Monetary Fund which currently exchanges at 1.36 dollars.

The cheque is easily convertible into the local currency of any West African currency. The statement said in Ghana the central and the commercial banks will provide sale and encashment services. The foreign exchange bureaux, for the time being, will serve as points of encashment but they do not provide sale services.

The statement said the long-term objective of the ECOWAS Travellers Cheques is to speed up the process of creating a single monetary zone in the sub-region.

It advised travellers to use the new system to facilitate the movement of goods and people in the region. "With the availability of this payment instrument, travellers resident in Ghana going to any West African country need not carry cash and thereby subject themselves to rigorous border check point hassles," the statement said.