GhIPSS moves to rope in more of the unbanked

Over a thousand people in the mining town of Tarkwa in the Western Region have been enrolled and issued with e-zwich card during a four-day banking fair organised jointly by Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) and some financial institutions operating in the area.

The exercise was targetted at the unbanked in order to rope them into the banking system as well as enable them to use the hybrid Point of Sale terminals that are being deployed.

In all, 11 financial institutions including universal banks, rural and community banks, as well as savings and loans companies took part in the 4-day exercise amidst high public interest. A total amount of 6,208 Ghana cedis was deposited on the cards that were issued.

Speaking in an interview, the Head of Business Development at GhIPSS, Mrs. Mary Dei Sarpong who led the team, described the enrolment exercise as very successful.

She said a number of hotels and key supermarkets in the mining town have been earmarked for deployment of the hybrid POSs. Mrs. Dei Sarong said Tarkwa and Fiaseman Senior High Schools as well as the Midwifery Training College in the town were also being enrolled onto the platform.

e-zwich cards are largely targetted at the unbanked and under-banked population and have received financial support from German Development Bank KFW to roll-out the service in peri-urban and rural areas of the country.

The GhIPSS Head of Business Development noted that the “Western Region has a huge potential that will be explored to benefit the unbanked and under-banked”. She indicated that, shortly, hybrid Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) will be deployed in Tarkwa for both e-zwich and normal ATM cardholders to use.

She however added that some enterprises, including Freebies Forex Bureau in Tarkwa, are already offering e-zwich retail services -- particularly to students of the University of Mines and Technology.