The turn of the last decade has seen a huge drive towards digital and electronic banking. The innovation has well driven financial inclusion and payments in the ecosystem. The Fintech movement in Ghana has given rise to the revolution of electronic banking in mobile money, agency banking, banking by apps and ussd codes.
The BOG Report
According to the BOG report, general payment ecosystem have supported the Bank’s objective of promoting inclusive finance. Access to finance especially among the unbanked segment of the population has improved on account of financial institutions and financial technology companies’ joint deployment of mobile based products and services.
Interoperability
In addition, the completion of the mobile money interoperability project has supported the financial inclusion drive. Total value of transactions through the interoperability platform was GH¢95.4 billion in September 2019 compared with GH¢32.6 billion in September 2018. 5 19. As at September 2019, total mobile money accounts in existence stood at almost 32 million and this has provided opportunity for financial institutions to expand on the delivery of services to economic agents. However, the Central Bank still has a lot to achieve in the wake of Sustainability Development Goal (SDG) No. 17.
Financial institutions are currently delivering digital credit and savings products. They are also providing alternative digital channels for their customers with the view to making payment convenient and accessible. As a further boost to the development of the e-payments ecosystem, the Bank of Ghana, in line with Section 10 of the Payment Systems and Services Act 2019 (Act 987), has granted GCB Bank (Ghana) Limited authorization to issue electronic money similar to what is popularly known as “mobile money”.
In its issuance of electronic money, GCB Bank would create electronic value backed by equivalent cash to provide customers with access to electronic wallets through Unstructured Supplementary Service Data channel (USSD), the bank’s Application (APP), Quick Respond Code (QR code) and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). GCB Bank plans to leverage on its 189-branch network to offer its own agency banking services.
