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<\/p>\n\nMansa Nettey \u2014 CEO, Standard Chartered Bank Ghana <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
In the midst of uncertainties, dwindling business and investor confidence and hardships, the Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank Ghana, Mansa Nettey, has expressed optimism that the country\u2019s digital economy could serve as a strong foundation on which the economy can bounce back stronger and better.<\/h2>\n
She said the digital economy presented to government the opportunity to leapfrog the country\u2019s development, create jobs for citizens and initiate economic recovery and growth for the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that even with our challenging circumstances (prevailing macroeconomic challenges) as a country, the digital economy is a strong foundation on which we can build back stronger and better.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that this era presents us with the greatest opportunity to leapfrog our development, drive change for our people, create jobs for our youth, initiate economic recovery and growth and bring hope to our people,\u201d she stated at the second edition of Standard Chartered Bank\u2019s Digital Banking, Innovation and Fintech Festival.<\/p>\n
It was held on the theme: \u2018Powering Africa\u2019s Digital Economy: Platforms; Players; Policy\u2019.<\/p>\n
More partnerships<\/strong><\/p>\n The CEO also called for more partnerships and collaborations between fintechs, telcos and banks.<\/p>\n She said it was only through partnerships that the country could scale up and achieve its digitalisation and financial inclusion goal.<\/p>\n \u201cA key milestone in Ghana has been the collaborative work between the Ghana Association of Banks (GAB) and the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhiPSS) which led to the roll out of the innovative industry wallet called Ghana Pay. There are several other collaborations that have sprawned significant initiatives and innovations,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Maxwell Opoku-Afari, for his part, said the ongoing sim-card registration exercise being championed by the National Communication Authority (NCA), would help curb the incidence of fraud, theft, money laundering and terrorism financing in the country\u2019s digital financial system.<\/p>\n He said the exercise, which had the backing of the Bank of Ghana, would ensure the centralisation of Know Your Customer (KYC) data to boost delivery of financial services in the country.<\/p>\n Dr Opoku-Afari said the consumer should be at the centre of the industry\u2019s collective efforts, adding that the central bank would not relent in its effort to protect them.<\/p>\n Forefront of innovation<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr Opoku-Afari said the central bank had over the last few decades been at the forefront of innovation, laying the foundation for an effective and efficient retail payments ecosystem that was anchored on a robust interbank infrastructure.<\/p>\n He said a prominent mile marker was in 2003, when the Payment Systems Act 2003 (Act 662) was passed and set in motion the promotion of electronic payments in the country.<\/p>\n He pointed out that this law provided the mandate to establish the GhIPSS which, coupled with sustained investments in the interbank payments infrastructure, had proven to be a potent stimulant of retail payment innovation in the country.<\/p>\n \u201cObserving developments eastward, the bank issued the Branchless Banking Guidelines to usher into Ghana, the mobile money concept. This guideline sought to anchor the emerging concept of mobile money on the resilience and safety of the banking sector.<\/p>\n \u201cFurther, and in line with the dictates of regulatory innovation development, the bank developed a policy framework in concert with industry and key stakeholders to introduce the Electronic Money Issuer (EMI) Guidelines,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n