Banks inundate BoG with requests for e-payment solutions
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) says it is inundated with applications from banks and non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) seeking approval to offer electronic payment solutions to customers nationwide.
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Virtually on daily basis, a financial institution in the country sends in applications to the BoG seeking permission to add e-solutions to their range of products.
The development brings to the fore the maturing nature of that segment of banking services and the successful march towards a cash lite society, the Director of Payment Solutions at BoG, Dr Settor Amedeku, told the Graphic Business on May 10.
It also means that many businesses in the financial sector are taking advantage of the Electronic Money Issuers (EMI) guidelines issued by the central bank in June 2015 to formalise their operations and grow their customer base, Dr Amedeku said in an interview.
He spoke to the paper after the launch of the Zenith GlobalPay, an online gateway payment service introduced by Zenith Bank Ghana Limited.
The innovation, which is available to merchants and customers, is expected to help facilitate online trade by making it possible for companies to sell their goods and services online and receive payment through the bank.
Getting on to the portal to transact business has been made free for both merchants and individuals.
Nature of requests
Explaining further, Dr Amedeku said the applications from financial institutions normally requested the central bank to grant regulatory permission to the relevant institutions to link customers’ accounts to their respective mobile phones, introduce electronic payment platforms for merchants and shoppers and use electronic payment solutions to reach out to the unbanked.
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He added that the situation prompted the central bank to set up a separate unit within its banking department to deal with such requests as well as provide the relevant infrastructure and technical expertise needed to facilitate growth in that segment of the market.
The unit, the National Payment Oversight Office (NPOF), is also expected to implement BoG's "rigorous appraisal system" meant to ensure that financial institutions do not compromise the burgeoning consumer confidence in the e-payment business.
So far, the director said, BoG had entered into strategic alliance with some development agencies such as the USAID and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) for technical support, capacity building and funding to help prosecute that agenda.
Impact on monetary policy
Moves by the BoG to formalise the operations of financial institutions in the electronic space are in line with the national agenda of reducing transaction in cash to favour e-transactions.
Dr Amedeku was confident that the increment in e-transactions in the country would help minimise the challenges that the circulation of physical cash brings, including reducing the cost of printing cash.
He thus called on the banks to put in place adequate mechanisms to support the growth of e-transactions. GB