Romeo Bugyei
THE CHIEF Executive Officer of IT Consortium, Romeo Bugyei, has highlighted the critical role the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) has played in Ghana’s fintech space since its inception in May 2007.
Speaking on the Citi Business Festival virtual forum on Citi TV, Mr. Bugyei pointed out that the centralised infrastructure provided by GhIPSS has made services offered by firms like IT Consortium much more “easier than in most countries, especially in Africa.
GhIPSS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bank of Ghana which was incorporated in May 2007 with a mandate to implement and manage interoperable payment system infrastructure for banks and non-bank financial institutions in Ghana.
In line with its mandate, GhIPSS has implemented and currently manages the National Switch & Biometric Smart Card Payment System (e-Zwich), the Cheque Codeline Clearing (CCC) System, the Ghana Automated Clearing House (GACH) systems- Direct Credit & Direct Debit and the National Switching and Processing System (gh-link).
Ghana Making Progress
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS), Archie Hesse, also pointed out that Ghana was in a position to be recognized as one of the countries at the forefront of driving a cashless society.
“If I look at the journey 14 years on, as we speak, we have enough products and services than any other country I know that exists in the world,” Mr. Hesse said during the Citi Business Festival virtual forum on Citi TV.
He said that GhIPSS only needed to make people more aware of the services and also get the government and the fintechs to embrace and use the platforms fully.
Tackling Cyber Fraud
The Chief Enablement and Information Officer for ABSA Bank, Ebo Richardson, called on players in the digital space to devise measures that will tackle cyber threats and fraud.
He said he believed digitisation would yield positive results if there were tighter mechanisms to deal with the pitfalls in the digital space.
Benefits Of A Cashless System
The Chief Executive Officer for Wear Ghana, Awura Abena Agyeman, highlighted the role the cashless system has played in serving and expanding the market, as well as reducing the incidents of theft.
“The cashless solutions that are currently available have made it possible for us to expand the markets that we serve. Whereas in the past, you would have to meet someone in person, for example, in the past, the story would be my sister is coming at such a time, and when they get here, they will come and buy; but that is not the story now at all because you can shop online through social media and then make the payments. So that has been good in terms of helping us to expand our reach.”