Central bank officials and switch operators from six (6) African countries are in Ghana, to learn from the national payment infrastructure provider, Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement System ltd (GhIPSS).
They came from Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, as well as switches such as Rwanda Rswitch, Zambia Electronic Clearing House Limited, and Central Africa GIMAC.
Their visit stems from a partnership between AfricaNenda and GhIPSS to organize a peer learning visit for selected African countries. The objective of the learning Visit is to enhance the understanding and knowledge of central banks and switch operators in the deployment and management of Inclusive Instant Payment Solutions.
The participants are expected to gain valuable insights into GhIPSS's scheme rules, business model and use cases.
AfricaNenda is an African-led team of experts committed to unlocking the potential of digital financial services for the financially excluded across the continent, by
accelerating the scale-up of instant and inclusive payment systems. The Group settled on GhIPSS for the learning visits, because of the strides GhIPSS has made in developing of Instant Payment solution known as the GhIPSS Instant Pay (GIP).
GIP has deepened financial inclusion in Ghana and it is considered one of the most advanced on the Africa continent, based on AfricaNenda's State of Instant and Inclusive Payment Systems (SIIPS) in Africa report 2022. As of December 2022, GhIPSS had processed a monthly average of 17.9 million Instant Payment transactions with 55 participating financial institutions.
During this learning visit, central bank representatives will participate in technical learning sessions, networking sessions and field visits.
Chief Executive officer of AfricaNenda Dr. Robert Ochola in a statement said he hoped the peer-learning event will support the growth of Instant and Inclusive Payment Systems in Africa, which the organisation considers critical to achieving universal financial inclusion by 2030. He stated that “we believe that Ghana's experience can offer critical lessons and good practices for regulators and policymakers in other countries, which is aligned with the organization’s agenda to accelerate knowledge sharing and enhance the capacity of African institutions”.
On his part, the Chief Executive of GhIPSS Archie Hesse said “GhIPSS is excited about this partnership as it affords us the opportunity to share the experiences and lessons learnt on our journey to achieving inclusive payments”.
Mr. Hesse was optimistic the knowledge sharing experience will provide the needed guidance to the various participating countries as they embark on the
development and deployment of their instant payment solutions.
The learning visit which ends on Friday will also help the participating countries to establish relevant networks and contacts to foster further sharing of expertise.
Source: GhIPSS