e-Zwich transactions record 138% growth

E-zwich transactions recorded growth of 138 percent in 2016, rising from 2.2 million in 2015 to 5.3 million in 2016.

Total transaction volumes for clearing house and Gh-link also increased by 7.4 percent and 8.8 percent respectively.

While the adoption of e-Zwich by government resulted in a significant boost in transactions, cash withdrawals recorded the highest growth among e-Zwich transactions with total withdrawals made from e-Zwich cards increasing by 182 percent from 900,000 in 2015 to 2.6 million in 2016.

Archie Hesse, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Interbank Payments & Settlements Systems (GhIPSS), who disclosed this to journalists in Accra, said products of his outfit improved by 25 percent compared to 2015.

“Total transaction volume increased from 16.6 million in 2015 to 20.8 million in 2016.”

Commenting further on the clearing house, Mr Hesse said cheque clearing continued to account for significant growth in clearing business, adding that express cheque clearing recorded the most growth, increasing by 60 percent in transaction volume.

“Both Express and Standard ACH direct credit increased by 12 percent. GhIPSS is however working with partner banks to find a lasting solution to the high volumes of ACH Direct Debit returns.”

Concerning the Gh-link, he said, the addition of more financial institutions and ATMs to the gh-link platforms accounted for more growth in Gh-link transactions.

Transactions however recorded a 52 percent growth in 2016.

This brings to 1,121 the total transactions in 2016 from 735 in 2015. And this growth is attributed to GhIPSS’ continued PoS deployment to retail outlets.

GhIPSS recorded over 7,000 transactions from e-Zwich international remittance platform.

This platform allows e-Zwich cardholders to receive international remittance directly onto their e-Zwich cards or into their accounts from any Unity Link Agent in Europe.