e-Payments make significant inroads in African nations
GhIPSS and NIBBS seek to create a cashless, electronic payment society through the roll-out of new electronic payment initiatives. January 10, 2013 | Magessan RajGhana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS), a Bank of Ghana subsidiary tasked with leading the migration of the country into an electronic payment society, recently announced plans to launch a new internet-powered payment system that will link local financial service providers with their counterparts in Nigeria and other countries across the African continent. In an attempt to address and help ease challenges associated with inter-country trading – a lack of international infrastructure, long payment cycles and heightened costs – GhIPSS’ new payment system will spare traders the ordeal of carrying physical money, or having to convert cash for trading purposes in other countries in the African region. According to GhIPSS CEO Archie Hesse, traders would only have to carry required point-of-sale (PoS) devices to withdraw cash and make necessary payments. “The whole idea is to make cashless transactions very appealing to people,” said Hesse. Indeed, since its inception in 2007, GhIPSS has embarked on a single-minded quest to make cashless transactions an attractive, mainstream proposition. Through introduction of GhIPSS’ flagship product, the ezwich smart card and electronic clearing system Payment Distribution System (PDS), e-payments in the country have begun to gain traction. Over the course of 2012, an average of $9 million (from some 48,000 transactions) was sent every quarter through the ezwich PDS – this in itself a remarkable 100% increase in the value and volume in PDS transactions as compared to 2011. Under the PDS, payments are batched in huge volumes and sent at a go to different recipients at various locations throughout the country, with money received instantaneously by individuals via their ezwich smart cards. With the extra effort involved in paying different people at different locations often cumbersome, time consuming and costly, solutions such as GhiPSS’ PDS have successfully facilitated greater efficien... Please login to read the complete article. If you already have an account, you can login now or subscribe/register.
Categories: Channels, Payments, Technology & Operations, Transaction BankingChannels,Payments,technology,Transaction Banking, Channels,Payments,Technology & Operations,Transaction Banking, Keywords:GhIPSS, Archie Hesse, Ezwich, PDS, GACH, NIBSS, CBN, Adebisi Shonibi, ADD, NIBSS E-BILLLspay, M-Pesa GhIPSS, Archie Hesse, ezwich, PDS, GACH, NIBSS, CBN, Adebisi Shonibi, ADD, NIBSS e-BILLLspay, m-Pesa
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