The Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) is seeking to reduce the turnaround time for payment of goods and services with the introduction of an E-bills payment service.
The service is among others expected to reduce the use of cash as government works to attain a cashless economy.
The CEO of GhIPSS, Archie Hesse explains that the e-bills payment service will enable billers (manufactures, Utility Service Providers etc) receive payments for goods and services using the Instant pay service.
The E-bills connects the payment platform for a specific merchant with GhIPSS instant pay which allows Instant interbank transactions.
“So if the distributors for a cement factory for example wants to make payment to a manufacturer, they could go unto their banks internet portal or app, select e-bills pay, complete the transaction process, and manufacturers account will be credited instantly. Currently you would have to go to designated banks to pay. But what the e-bills service offer is an opportunity to pay any biller directly from your account without any physical movement of cash” he told Citi Business News.
Already, the Ghana Community Network Services Limited (GCNet) and the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) have advanced plans to hook unto the platform.
The two institutions are seeking to reduce the turnaround time for payments and prevent revenue leakages.
Mr. Hesse tells Citi Business News his outfit is working closely with the institution.
“We just started and two main government institutions (GCNet and GIFMIS) have come to see us that they want to link their payment systems with instant pay. In so doing with GCNet for example, once you get the order number and complete the online payment process, you do not need to go to the Port; GCNet will debit the clients account and credit that of the port.”
Total GhIPSS transactions hit GH¢208bn
In 2017, the volume of total transactions processed on all GhIPSS platforms reached 25 million.
This translated into a value of 208 billion cedis; up from the 174 billion cedis recorded in the preceding year.
Of this, transactions on the clearing house which involves express cheques and direct credit among banks, recorded the highest increase of 204 billion cedis.
Meanwhile, payment via e-zwich by government agencies, foreign donors and some private institutions remain key drivers of growth for e-zwich transactions.
Source: Citifmonline.com