Archie Hesse
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS), Archie Hesse, has accepted the challenge thrown by the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia that stakeholders should ensure interoperability of telcos by the end of the year.
When telcos become interoperable, customers will be able to send and receive mobile money across different mobile networks, which is currently not possible.
The Vice President, speaking at the 5th Economic Outlook and Business Strategy Conference held in Accra, urged GhIPSS, banks and telecommunication companies to ensure that there is interoperability between Ghana Link, which is a GhIPSS platform, e-Zwich platform and the mobile telephone platforms within six months.
He said this was important in advancing the electronic payment agenda, adding that the country has the requisite infrastructure to achieve this goal.
On his part, Mr. Hesse agreed that interoperability among telcos was extremely important.
He said the absence of this interconnectivity was inimical to the goal of financial inclusion through mobile money.
The CEO said GhIPSS was going to meet with key stakeholders to work together to meet the six-month deadline.
GhIPSS currently has the infrastructure that supports interoperability among banks and this technology could be extended to also cover the telcos.
Technology companies operating in the financial sphere, better known as Fintech companies, said there will be significant growth in digital payments if inter-telcos mobile money transactions were possible.
Chief Executive of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications Kwaku Sakyi-Addo, who has been passionate about the growth of digital payment, said interoperability would achieve even more if government pushed its agencies to accept payments via mobile money and other digital forms of payments.
By Samuel Boadi
samuel10gh@yahoo.com