The total amount of transactions recorded on the e-zwich platform for 2019 rose to ¢10.7 million as against ¢7.7 million recorded in 2018.
The growth which represents a 39 per cent increase over the preceding year’s performance can be attributed to the use of the platform by government for the payment of beneficiaries of many social intervention programmes.
Speaking to Journalists at its annual media engagement, CEO of the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GHIPSS), Archie Hesse, is confident the volume of the transaction on the electronic payment platform will record better growth this year.
The report also shows that more corporate institutions still prefer using the cheque book for payments for goods and services.
The GHIPSS processed a total of 38 million transactions in the year 2019 representing a 42 per cent increase over 2018 which stood at 26 million.
In line with the global trend, electronic payments in Ghana is moving towards mobile and other digital transactions.
According to Mr Hesse, the increased number of beneficiaries on the LEAP programme and National Service Personnel paid through e-zwich has contributed significantly to the growth for the digital platform in 2019.
“We are glad that government has embraced the system and endorsed the various payment platforms we introduced especially the e-zwich.
“When you look at the statistics, the performance of the e-zwich platform is basically as a result of government social intervention beneficiaries including, NaBCO, LEAP, School feeding etc. But we hope to improve upon it this year. The GHIPSS is anticipating a lot of digital payment systems this year and we’re ready for it”.
“We are working on reviewing the tariff for all digital transactions. What I can assure you is that the rate has dropped marginally from the previous charges when the mobile money interoperability has not been introduced,” Archie Hesse noted.
Meanwhile, the mobile money interoperability platform recorded a total of ¢9 million transactions in value.
Myjoyonline