Currently, a team from Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems, (GhIPSS) and the banks all over the country are registering and issuing e-zwich cards. Also Point of Sales (POS) devices are being deployed to new outlets, while new institutions are being brought on board.
At the beginning of the year, the Chief Executive of GhIPSS Fred France promised a significant development on the e-zwich platform as they work to modernise the country’s payment system. He intimated that a significant number of people will own the e-zwich card and its use will also be expected to increase tremendously by the end of the year.
Speaking in an interview, the General Manager in charge of Project and Business Development, Archie Hesse, said there is a visible increase in the volume of transactions involving the e-zwich card. He said following the issuance of e-zwich card to Senior High School (SHS) students, the frequency and quantum of transactions has increased significantly. Although the SHS/e-zwich exercise is still underway, a lot of the students who already have their cards have begun using them.
Mr. Hesse believes that, as young people, the tendency to use an electronic product would be high and that could explain the level of activity involving the e-zwich card in schools. So far, the enrolment exercise has ended in the Volta Region while those taking place in the Northern, Upper West and Upper East are nearing completion. He said the registration team is in the other regions as well, busily enrolling the students.
Mr. Hesse also disclosed that the staff of the country’s premier teaching hospital, Korle Bu, is also being enrolled and issued with the biometric card. He explained that the exercise at the hospital is to pave the way for payment of allowances and other emoluments from internally generated funds to be disbursed through the e-zwich card. Additionally, he said POSs will be placed at the hospital to give patients and visitors to the facility the option to pay using the e-zwich.
A similar exercise will begin shortly at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, following a successful discussion with the hospital administrators. Another health facility, the Trust Hospital in Accra, is already accepting e-zwich. The use of the biometric card will significantly reduce the amount of cash that these health facilities have to contend with. Also, patients can avoid the risk of carrying huge sums of money, he stressed. Mr. Hesse said the beauty with using the card is that patients who need extra money can have it transferred to their cards and access it right at the hospital if they so wish.
On efforts to improve accessibility, the General Manager said GhIPSS is targetting a lot of pharmacies where POSs will be deployed so that cardholders can pay for products at the pharmacies using their e-zwich card and also be able to transfer monies from the outlets. According to him, quite recently 7 pharmacies were given POSs and many more will be reached in subsequent roll-outs. He mentioned the fuel stations as another type of outlet that is gradually being populated with e-zwich POSs.
He encouraged the public to use the card to pay at fuel stations if the service is available. “Today, you cannot buy fuel after 10p.m. in most places because they are closed for fear of robbery. But if we use more of the e-zwich card, then these fuel stations will not need to close because they will have less physical cash on them.” He said GhIPSS is engaging the Oil Marketing Companies to see how the e-zwich can be used effectively to enable fuel stations to provide a 24-hour service.
Mr. Hesse also touched on plans to enable drivers and traders travelling long distances to carry electronic money and be able to access cash when they reach their destinations. He said currently a few major transport terminals in Accra have POSs, where anyone can go and put their cash on the card. Moving forward, he said, GhIPSS and the banks will move to the Eastern Region to issue e-zwich cards to drivers, traders and commuters at the transport terminals and also deploy POSs at those places.
According to him, this exercise will commence from Nkwakwa from the end of March and then be extended to Koforidua and Nsawam, all in the Eastern Region. He explained that it is safer for drivers and commuters on long journeys to put their cash on the e-zwich, so that they are not exposed to pilfering or highway robberies.
Another project currently underway is the payment of more National Service persons with the e-zwich card. The initiative, with the collaboration of the National Service Secretariat, began last year when personnel in some districts were paid through their biometric cards. This form of paying allowances, Mr. Hesse said, is being extended to many other districts with the aim of paying all National Service allowances through the e-zwich in the near-future.
Mr. Hesse was grateful to the banks for the level of cooperation. He said some banks have found the e-zwich roll-out exercise a useful tool to mobilise deposits and are leaving no stone unturned to ensure its success. He also encouraged the public to cultivate the culture of using electronic cards since it is safer, convenient and supports the growth of the financial sector by channeling more funds through the banking system. He urged companies, big or small, who want to pay their staff, particularly commission staff, in a faster, efficient and transparent manner to contact GhIPSS so they can be introduced to the Payment Distribution System which is being patronised by major corporate bodies in the country.
Read the original:
E-zwich Records Increased Activity