BoG urged to promote cashless transactions
The Chief Executive Officer of Zoobashop, Mr Albert Biga, has called on the Bank of Ghana to introduce interventions that will promote cashless transactions.
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The Central Bank is seeking to promote a cashless society but Mr Biga said the actions of some banks were not helping with the way they conducted their transactions.
“Banks charge customers for using their Visa cards to pay for goods and services and we as merchants also get charged between one and three per cent for receiving electronic money. The question then is, as a player, if I have another avenue to take it in cash that will guarantee all my revenue, I will go for that which will not promote the cashless society which the central bank is seeking to do,” he stated.
Mr Biga was speaking at the launch of the third eCommerce Expo in Accra.
He said it was more expensive to serve a customer in a physical bank than it was to serve the customer through digital centres or Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), adding that it was not a sound business practice to charge customers for using their ATMs
“If we are encouraging people to use the ATM, then why are we charging them?” he asked.
Launch of eCommerce Expo
The country is set to witness its third eCommerce Expo which would bring together companies and professionals from online retail shops, telcos, banks, internet service providers, software designers, solution providers in the mobile commerce, online payment, IT security, etc.
The event which is being organised by OML Africa is scheduled for October 27 and 28, 2016.
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The Head of Events at OML Africa, Mr Paul Asinor, said consumers were becoming more comfortable with eCommerce.
According to American independent technology and market research company, Forrester, mobile payments alone would grow to US$142 billion by the end of 2019, up from US$52 billion in 2014.
Mr Asinor said this was significant and that businesses could therefore not afford to lose sight of the fact that the future was online, mobile and digital.
He said the expo would have on display about 50 Ghanaian and international online solutions and products with an impressive list of exhibitors.
He noted that the Expo had over the years experienced remarkable attendee growth with conference delegates, exhibitor and exhibition visitor numbers growing by 44 per cent, 90.9 per cent, and 115 per cent respectively, adding that it was expecting over 4000 visitors, 100 conference delegates and 50 exhibitors were expected to attend this year’s event.