Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS), a subsidiary of the Bank of Ghana, and partner institutions have embarked on public education to create awareness and to drive patronage of Ghana's Universal Quick Response code for payment.

Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia launched the GhQR last year to add up to Ghana's existing electronic payment channels as part of the larger cash-lite agenda.

The use of GhQR is expected to experience significant growth as more than 15 institutions, comprising 11 financial institutions and four payment service providers had gone live with the service.

Speaking on the development, Mr Archie Hesse, Chief Executive of GhIPSS, commended the institutions that have gone live with the service and expressed hope that the remaining players in the industry would quicken their processes to enable customers to enjoy the service.

The institutions offering GhQR include Vodafone Cash, AirtelTigo Money, GCB Bank, Absa Bank, Access Bank and Cal Bank and Fidelity Bank.

Mr. Hesse said the GhQR was a non-contact form of payment, which made it very ideal in the era of the Coronavirus pandemic as it ensures that both customers and merchants observe physical distancing.

Mr. Hesse said the campaign would continue and urged the public to patronize the GhQR payment service.

The payment service enables customers to scan displayed QR codes with their smartphones and pay, or dial displayed USSD codes with their phones to make payment.

Ghana's QR code for payment is universal which means that any customer whose bank or payment service provider offers the service can use it wherever it is displaced.

"Anybody that has ever used a phone should be able to use QR code with ease, and after scanning or dialing the code, one can see the details of the transaction to be certain that they tally with how much is to be paid and who is being paid, before tapping to pay", Mr. Hesse explained.

He added that this feature gives customers a lot of confidence knowing that the right transaction has been affected.