More opt for e-zwich

More organisations are signing on to use the e-zwich system to pay emoluments following tangible benefits that the National Service Scheme (NSS) has derived from the payment system.

The NSS is currently one of the institutions using the e-zwich to make payments, and as a result has eliminated over 35,000 ghost-names and made a savings of GH?140million over the past one year. This was possible because e-zwich is a biometric smart-card and therefore uniquely identifies each person and detects cases of impersonation and duplication of names on payrolls.

The Controller and Accountant-General’s Department has also just announced its intention to start using e-zwich for public sector workers. This could be a major breakthrough as it is expected to significantly take out the ghost-names on the public sector payroll. Another institution that is likely to embrace the e-zwich is Ghana Cocoa Board. There are indications that the state cocoa buyer and exporter will start asking produce buying companies to use e-zwich.

President John Mahama last year indicated his resolve to drive the nation toward an electronic payment system, and urged various social schemes such as the Youth Employment Agency and the Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty (LEAP) to use e-zwich for payments. This directive and benefits that the NSS has derived from the system appear to have attracted a lot more organisations.

In an interview the Chief Executive Officer of GhIPSS, Archie Hesse, said the service will continue to engage with various institutions and tell them about benefits of the e-zwich technology. He said the payment system comes with Bio Search technology and enables organisations to weed out ghost-names with ease. He is hopeful that Controller and Accountant-General’s Department coming on board will bring in its wake a lot of significant changes to the country’s payment system.

Ghana hosted the first-ever biometric payment conference last week, during which participants shared ideas on how to maximise the technology. Events such as the conference and other activities by GhIPSS are expected to change the fortunes of e-zwich and electronic payments in general, not only in Ghana but across the continent of Africa.