A customer enjoys her ride on a Taxify cab
First National Bank Ghana, a subsidiary of the FirstRand group of South Africa, has introduced its merchant acquiring solution in Ghana.
Available on a Point of Sale (PoS) device, this will be available to all qualifying businesses such as retail outlets, fuel stations, restaurants, churches, etc.
As one of the fast-growing commercial banks in country, First National Bank has reiterated its determination to help Ghanaians transform from a cash-based economy to a card or cash-lite economy.
The First National Bank’s POS devices thus come in handy because these are enabled to accept all Visa or MasterCards.
Delali Dzidzienyo, Head, Marketing and Corporate Affairs, commented that “the introduction of PoS machines is timely, especially as the country is moving from a cash based economy to a more secure cashless one. Our commitment to ensure a quick penetration and usage has informed the decision to initially offer the devices to businesses free of charge. We are waiving the rental cost on the device, the cost of receipt rolls and the setup cost. Our aim is to help businesses in Ghana move from the traditional way of payments to electronic cards that are more secure and convenient.”
“Our POS devices have fraud mitigation tools which guard against fraud, making it reliable and safer,” he continued.
The 2016 Bank of Ghana payment system report indicated that there are about 5.4 million cardholders in Ghana with 3.2 million holding GH Link cards and 2.2 million split between Visa and MasterCard.
This clearly shows the market appetite and opportunity for card payments in Ghana.
First National Bank manages the installation and set up of the devices to ensure its clients are up and running as quickly as possible.
In addition, they conduct fraud training to help protect their client’s businesses.
The POS devices are dual SIM-enabled and come in the bank’s unique turquoise colour.
It would also accept the GH Link cards in te first quarter of 2018.
Mr Dzidzienyo said “settlements are made within 24 hours even on weekends and holidays, which means funds are credited into the accounts of respective businesses within 24hrs.
“The devices will be deployed nationwide with a pool of agents ready to provide services beyond Accra.”
A business desk report