Effective next month, government will begin the implementation of one of its key policies aimed at boosting financial inclusion, which is Mobile Money Interoperability.
That affirmation is in line with the Vice Presidents’ assertion that the policy which will allow mobile money users to send and receive money from one network to the other, will be implemented in May.
This comes after government missed multiple implementation deadlines in November, February and March.
Confirming the implementation of the policy to Citi Business News, a Deputy Minister of Communication, George Andah said Mobile Money Interoperability will be rolled from May 10, 2018.
“It’s true that the mobile money interoperability may not have been on board until now, but I can assure you that on the 10th of May, we are going with the live launch of interoperability in Ghana. It’s not just for transfers between mobile money operators, it’s also for transfers between mobile money operators and the banks we have in the country.”
For Mr Andah, mobile money interoperability was only a part of a bigger scheme to digitize Ghana’s economy.
“The entire eco-system of having the national digital addressing system, having the interoperability platform in place and having the Ghana card in place will create that right ecosystem, will drive the digitization of Ghana, and the formalization of the economy.”
The roll-out of the mobile money interoperability platform is also in fulfillment of driving a cash lite economy in Ghana.
Bawumia on mobile money interoperability
The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has in the past expressed confidence that the policy will help attract more investments and enhance financial inclusion in the country.
“There is a lot of work that has been done and I am happy to say that all things being equal, in May which is in a couple of months’ time, we expect to launch Ghana’s interoperable system. It is really going to be the vehicle for true interoperability as well as financial inclusion.”
“This means that all the mobile companies and all the bank accounts will be interoperable and so we are providing this vehicle for financial inclusion and it will help us also move towards a cashless society,” the Vice President added.
The Ghana Interbank and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) has since been mandated to provide the interoperability platform for the players in the ecosystem.
The contract to GhIPSS came after a botched agreement with Sibton Switch which had earlier agreed to offer the service for some 4.6 billion cedis.
The Vice President for the first time gave the GhIPSS a November 2017 deadline.
This was extended to January 2018.
Subsequently, the CEO of GhIPSS, Archie Hesse admitted to completing all the necessary processes to allow for a takeoff by February 2018.