All set for e-Zwich introduction

Story: Boahene Asamoah

ALL is set for the introduction of the national electronic payment system, the e-Zwich, next month.
So far necessary tests on the system, such as the user acceptance test, have been completed, proving a high user acceptance.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GIPPS), Mr Fred France, who gave the assurance said staff of banks and other point of sale outlets had undergone the necessary training needed to introduce the project in the coming month.
Speaking to a cross-section of the media in Accra, Mr France stated that the e-Zwich would afford everybody the opportunity to access financial services using a biometric smart card.
GIPPS has been established by the Bank of Ghana to work with banks to improve the payment systems to provide a range of technology-driven solutions and associated support services to improve the general efficiency of the payment systems.
The system is to provide an overall affordable and convenient public access to banking services.
Mr France stated that from April, there was going to be mass deployment of Point of Sale (PoS) terminals throughout the country, adding that it would also be a period of piloting the project.
The Chief Operating Officer of GIPPS, Mr Yooku Korsah, explained that the e-Zwich would offer a common platform for electronic payment system transactions, integrate all existing bank switches and also enable both online and off-line payment and settlement transactions.
He said currently about 46 per cent of banks were concentrated in the Greater Accra Region and such banks were limited in terms of branch network throughout the country.
Mr Korsah said there was a large unbanked public, while there was strong competition for the few who were doing business with the banks.
Again, the heavy dependence on cash for payment as well as limited infrastructure for electronic payment, such as low ATM spread, insufficient Point of Sale (PoS) terminals and unreliable power and communication networks were some of the reasons that had accounted for the introduction of the national payment system, Mr Korsah stated.
He said the e-Zwich used a biometrics card for both off-line and online and also works on Global System of Mobile (GSM) communications, adding that “from both a merchant and the bank’s perspective, it is a very safe platform”.”
Mr Korsah said banks in the country had up to June this year to make their ATMs compatible to the e-Zwich platform.