Regional Support

The GhIPSS payment bureau is a payment service that uses the e-zwich Payment Distribution System (PDS) for the disbursement of salaries and allowances electronically onto e-zwich cards. The Bureau also provides an effective payroll management system using the    e-zwich biometric search engine.

1.  How does the Bureau Operates?
The operations of the Bureau are in two levels: Making Payment on behalf of an Employer and Auditing payroll files

• Making Payment on behalf of an Employer
  An employer paying workers or beneficiaries on the e-zwich card can employ the services of the GhIPSS payment Bureau.

Payments will be done by:

• creating an excel payroll file capturing the; Recipient name, Amount and e-zwich card number.
• The payroll data will then be imported as a "text" or "csv" file into the e-zwich payment distribution application.
• The pay roll data will be validated (Validation is a one off process and it is done to ensure there are no duplications in the biometric details of beneficiaries)
• The application will distribute the funds based on the data on the payroll to the   e-zwich cards of the beneficiaries.

Alternatively, the Payment Bureau can set a company up to perform the payment function themselves. In this case:

• The PDS software be will installed on the PC of the designated payer
• The GPB will provide the designated payer with all the necessary training required to perform the function effectively

In all these scenarios, interested companies will have to consult the Bureau on the most appropriate option.  

• Auditing Payroll Files on behalf of an employer
  This is done using the e-zwich biometric search engine. Employers who want to audit their payroll file will submit the names and e-zwich card numbers of their beneficiaries to the Bureau. This information will be validated against a master list.  A detailed report on the outcome will then be submitted back to the employer.

2. Can companies who do not want to pay workers/ beneficiaries on e-zwich use the search engine?
Yes they can. But to perform the biometric search function (auditing pay file), all their employees or beneficiaries will have to get e-zwich cards. This will assist the Bureau to  identify them uniquely and weed out all possible duplications in the pay file. Organisations can then use the cleaned pay file to transfer salaries/ allowances to account numbers using the Direct Credit platform or any other means of payment.

3. How safe are the operations of the Bureau?
The Bureau is equipped with state of the art facilities that mitigate against any delays in payment. Our systems are tested and tried. Again Organisations who do business with the bureau are assured of confidentiality in payment data.  Other control mechanisms put in place to ensure maximum security include:

• A set up of an end to end funds transfer protocol
• Validation and Verification process where payment records presented by the organization is checked against the whole e-zwich database.
• A final validated list shall be deemed to be the payment file during a particular payment period
• Dip Stick - Periodic verification of PDS reports.
• Vertical look up (Vlook up) - 100% of PDS report against validated list.
• Internal and External auditors to audit all processes, thus Verification, Validation, Host Account Mini Statement and PDS report against files sent via ftp

4. Benefits of using the Bureau

• For  security and efficiency.
• The Bureau provides timely review of all payment records through a pre-audit exercise to assure clients of the display of due diligence and value for money.
• For efficient payroll management.
• Ensures good audit trail

The e-zwich Payment Distribution System (PDS) is an application which provides a secure and convenient method that allows an organization to pay its beneficiaries on their e-zwich smart cards. The PDS system can be used for the distribution of SALARY/ WAGE/ PENSION/ LOAN Payments. This application can be run by a Financial Institution on behalf of an employer or by the employers themselves.

Payments can be made in a batch or single transaction by importing the payment file into the PDS system and processing the payment online. The switch creates individual 10-digit codes for each recipient representing the amount paid and is immediately available to be loaded.

Paying unto e-zwich cards empowers employers and institutions to control when their beneficiaries receive payments as the funds are immediately available after processing is complete. For employees who require to have funds transferred into their traditional bank accounts, the system allows them to split income received from the PDS between their bank accounts and e-zwich cards.

How it works

1. Details of the institution/company are registered on the e-zwich system by the employer´s bank and captured on an Employer produced for the institution/ company.
2. Employer deposits funds (representing Total Net Salary/Wage Payment and processing fees) with its banker and an electronic value for the amount of the total net salary is created and credited to the employer card.
3. The payroll is created in excel or note pad capturing the; Recipient name, Amount and e-zwich card number (i.e. USN; this is available on the reverse of the client card).
4. The payroll data is imported as a "text" or "csv" into the e-zwich payment distribution application. The application distributes the funds based on the data on the payroll to the e-zwich cards of the beneficiaries.
5. Each beneficiary can then load their funds automatically or manually at any Point of Sale (POS) or ATM terminal.

Processing Fees
The system charges each recipient/beneficiary of the Salary/ Wage Payment Gh¢0.75 for processing the payment. This fee is payable by the paying organization (employer) and it is paid up front. This implies that, in requesting for the creation of e-money for payment of salaries/Wages/Pensions etc, the employer must deposit with the Bank, Cheque or Cash representing Total Net Payments plus processing fees (i.e. Gh¢0.50 per recipient).

Loading Fees

After payment of the salaries/wages, the beneficiaries must load the value onto their cards. There are two (2) options available for this process.

• Online Auto Load - This process costs GH¢0.50 per load. (This is payable by the recipient)
• Offline Manual Load - This process does not attract any charge. It involves the manual input of the 10 digit Signature Code (Codes to be provided by the employer) and the amount being received on the POS or ATM.

Benefits of Payment Distribution System

• Promote speed.
• Reduce the risk of fraud and loss of monies
• Reduce associated cost of withdrawing huge sums of money for distribution to the employees.
• Eliminate reconciliation problems associated with cash payments
• Enable direct monitoring of payments to employees (audit trail)
• Provide security and convenience to employees(biometric verfication)
• Payments can be effected anytime
• If the card is lost, the money can be restored onto a new card.

For further information on how to pay your staff or receive your salary via e-zwich, please contact your bank or Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems Limited via the details below.

Telephone: +233 (0)302 610800 | +233 (0)302 610780
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The e-zwich International Remittance Platform is a platform that allows e-zwich cardholders in Ghana to receive money directly unto their e-zwich cards from abroad. The system facilitates the secure and Instant distribution of funds directly unto beneficiary e-zwich cards.
The remittance platform also allow individuals to receive money directly into their bank accounts.

How it works
To receive Remittance unto an e-zwich card:

• A beneficiary needs to register for an e-zwich card from any bank or Savings & Loans
• Give the e-zwich number to the sender
• The sender will do the transfer from any Unitylink Outlet, using the recipients e-zwich number (located behind the e-zwich card)
• Once the money is sent to the card, the recipient can go to any branch of a bank or Savings  Loans Company or e-zwich agent location to load and withdraw your money.

To Send Remittance to e-zwich Cards

• Visit any Unitylink Agent Location
• Provide the necessary documentation as requested by Unitylink https://unitylink.com/
• Provide Unitylink Agent with Beneficiary's 10 digit e-zwich number and the amount to be transferred.
• Electronic funds will be loaded unto beneficiary account

Even though the e-zwich International Remittance platform is opened to all international remittance companies who transfer / remit funds to Ghana, Unitylink  Remittance Company is currently the only Company on the Platform. The company has outlets in the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Italy.

Benefits of Receiving Remittance on e-zwich Cards

• It is safe, secure and convenient
• It is fast. Funds are received same day they are remitted.
• Beneficiaries can walk to any bank either than the bank that issued the card to them; to receive their money
• There is no need for a pin or password as your finger print is all you need to load and withdraw your funds

Processes for joining the Scheme as a Remittance Company

• Remittance Companies who are interested should contact GhIPSS