Sandra Francisco

According to Archie Hesse, a concerted effort is required to populate Ghana with many point of sales (POS) and other electronic payment channels. He said the State, stakeholder institutions and business owners, must work together to ensure effective deployment of POSes and other devices that accept electronic payments.

Large corporate organisations and public sector institutions can receive instant payment electronically if they sign onto the e-bills pay system introduced by Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement System (GhIPSS). This should address payment challenges and improve efficiency at these organisations.

The use of e-bills pay, an electronic payment system that enables large corporate institutions to receive payment via the internet or mobile applications, can reduce the human interface and help bring down corruption at public institutions. E-bills pay is one of the latest initiatives by Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS), the national payment infrastructure provider.

There are clear indications that bank customers prefer to have instant access to their money as demand for express and instant services surge. The 2017 performance report issued by GhIPSS shows that the transactions with the highest growth were express cheque, express ACH Direct Credit and the GhIPSS Instant Pay (GIP).