Banks commit to GhIPSS cashlite agenda

Efforts by the Ghana Inter-Bank Payments and Settlements Systems (GhIPSS) to revolutionize Ghana’s payment systems has received full backing from the financial services sector, particularly banks.

The Ghana Association Bankers (GAB) on the occasion of GhIPSS’s 10th anniversary pledged its unflinching support and partnership to efforts to promote electronic payments in the country.

Speaking on behalf of the president of GAB at the climax of the anniversary in Accra, the Chairman of the UT Group of companies, Mr Prince Kofi Amoabeng said the banking sector had enjoyed a smooth working relationship with GhIPSS, adding that the platforms on which the partnership had evolved had “supported our drive to increase the number of people in the formal banking sector.”

He was full of praise for GhIPSS’s commitment and dedication to the course of the payment systems industry in Ghana and promised the Association’s unflinching support and partnership to the cashlite agenda.

The Association admitted that GhIPSS had transformed the banking sector in a way that had encouraged banking and improved tremendously the speed and security of banking transactions.

Banks that were hitherto highly unsupportive of the growth of mobile money transactions were virtually in a turf war with the telcos over the speed of growth of electronic payment systems.

Mobile phone adoption has increased significantly in Ghana over the last few years with adoption rates hovering around 136 per cent according to the National Communications Authority (NCA).

It is instructive to note that the unbanked population in Ghana represents about 70 per cent of the population. This obviously presents a huge opportunity for growth of mobile financial services in the country to accelerate financial inclusion.

Fully convinced that the relationship is more of collaboration than competition, the GAB intimated that GhIPSS had proved beyond doubt their preparedness to partner all financial institutions to migrate Ghana to an electronic payment society.

Mr Amoabeng reiterated the mandate of banks to effectively and efficiently play the financial intermediation role and ensure that customers had value for their money.

“This with your support we have achieved to a large extent,” he added.