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eghipTransfer of funds from e-zwich card to mobile money (MoMo) wallet is on a steady rise as the public is making good use of the second phase of mobile money interoperability service. The second phase of MoMo interoperability, which was launched in late November last year, was to enable the public to send money from their e-zwich card to their MoMo wallet and vice versa.

Figures from the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems Ltd (GhIPSS), showed that in January this year alone, transfer of funds from e-zwich card to MoMo wallet, was done more than 9,000 times with values exceeding three million Ghana cedis. In this phase of the MoMo interoperability, it enables connectivity among the main payment platforms in Ghana comprising bank account, MoMo and e-zwich. Mr. Archie Hesse, Chief Executive of GhIPSS said the movement of funds across mobile networks as well as from e-zwich cards, clearly shows the relevance of the interoperability project.

He said the third phase, which will ensure interoperability at the agents’ level will further drive electronic payments in Ghana. Ghana has made steady progress toward electronic payments and a lot more is expected to take place this year, as GhIPSS rollout its projects for the year. Transfer of funds from e-zwich card to MoMo wallet until recently, could only be done at banking halls. But GhIPSS has begun upgrading the point of sales (PoSes) of e-zwich agents to enable them to also offer the transfer to MoMo wallet. A number of agents in Accra offer the service and officials of GhIPSS said they were moving to the regions to also upgrade their POSes.

Mr Hesse said the major breakthrough had made movement of funds seamless across the platforms and facilitating payments for businesses as well as individuals. The use of e-zwich to pay emoluments has gone up significantly as it has become an important tool to weed out ghost names from payrolls. Many people, therefore, receive their remunerations on the card and the interoperability means that funds received on the card, can be moved to their bank account as well as their MoMo wallet.

The public will have to accept electronic payment channels as their default form of payment, to stay safe as scientists predict that the Coronavirus will linger on for a while. This is because quite a number of electronic payment channels do not require physical contacts for payments to be effected.

 
Ghana has been rolling out a number of measures to help in the fight against the spread of the pandemic, including a partial lockdown at a point and currently, restrictions on social gathering among others.  However recent conversations globally point to a gradual easing of restrictions, to allow life to return to what is being described as the new normal.
 
Speaking in an interview, the Chief Executive of Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS), Mr Archie Hesse said electronic payment is one of the ‘new normal’ that must be adhered to, in order to live with the virus.  He explained that there are several electronic payment options that do not require physical contact and urged the public to consider them as their default mode of payment, even if Covid-19 restrictions are relaxed.
 
Cash transactions have been described as a possible conduit for the spread of COVID-19 if the use of cash remains high. In advanced countries where e-commerce and electronic payment channels are common, the concerns about cash spreading the virus are hardly talked about, but Ghana is confronted with this challenge.
 
The Bank of Ghana, GhIPSS and financial institutions have been campaigning for the use of electronic payment options. But there are fears that people’s adherence to this advice could wane if restrictions are relaxed. But the GhIPSS Boss said a sustained campaign by all stakeholders could be helpful. He, therefore, urged financial institutions to continue to encourage their customers to use their electronic payment solutions.
 
The GhIPSS CEO noted that traders and businesses in general play a crucial role in getting the public to use more of the electronic payment channels. He explained that once merchants, including micro-scale operators such as table-top or corner shops, agree to accept mobile money and transfers from bank accounts, many people will find the need to use more of these channels than cash.
 

Mr Hesse, therefore, encouraged shop owners to accept at least the basic electronic payment channels such as mobile money. “Big shops and businesses can accept a whole range of electronic channels such as GIP, ACH, and other electronic transfers, while the medium can do the QR codes and even the bank transfers but there should be no excuse for people not to accept at least mobile money”, he stressed. “These electronic channels actually bring in more income to shop owners and businesses, because your customers have a wider option to pay you, including money that they do not readily have on them”, Mr Hesse added.

 
Mr Hesse urged the public to continue to observe the safety protocols and patronise businesses that give them electronic payment options.
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