The central bank is considering offloading parts of its shares in the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) to commercial banks in the country, in order to drive adoption of the institution’s industry guidelines.
GhIPSS’s Chief Executive Officer Archie Hesse said the move, which will be effected in the course of the year, is line with best practice in parts of the world.
Speaking in an interview at the launch of the Ghana Banking Awards last week, Mr. Hesse said: “As at now it [GhIPSS] is 100 percent owned by the central bank. So we believe that even if the banks take 80 percent, that will support the adoption of our guidelines…and it is consistent with good practice where in most countries the interbank payment system is owned by the banks”.
The initiative by GhIPSS comes after similar recommendations were made in a central bank comprehensive roadmap document to enhance payment systems in the country.
One of the goals of the Strategic Payments Roadmap for Ghana is meant to build on the current payment systems infrastructure to reduce the dependence on cash for transactions.
But Mr. Hesse said GhIPSS is not oblivious of the challenges that will come with the planned change in the ownership structure when completed.
“There are some difficulties when the system is 100 percent owned by the banks, where they might lower the price etc.; and in every situation you have the advantages and disadvantages. But as managers of the system, it is up to you to take these things on board and come up with the appropriate measures for the environment to achieve what it was meant for,” he said