The government of Ghana has budgeted EUR 7.5 million (USD 10.6 million) to support the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement System (GHIPSS) in an effort to ensure high-quality delivery of financial services and to better serve the under-banked population of Ghana. Ghana’s Finance Minister, Dr Kwabena Duffuor, has been quoted as stating “the funds would allow GHIPSS to implement a countrywide biometric system as well as undertake a rural banking project that uses the National Switch and Smart card payment system, branded as e-zwich…This technology will permit offline transaction and fingerprint recognition making it highly suitable for rural areas and for the uneducated people in our country” [1]. Goals regarding the number of people to be reached and schedule of the project have not been disclosed.
GHIPSS is a subsidiary of the Bank of Ghana, the regulatory banking authority in Ghana. GHIPSS also is mandated to operate the Ghana Automated Clearing house (GACH), an electronic funds transfer system launched in June 2011 by the Bank of Ghana.
By: Alexandra Pattee, Research Associate
About Bank of Ghana: The Bank of Ghana has regulatory and supervisory authority in Ghana over virtually every type of banking and financial institution, including rural and community banks, savings and loan companies and credit unions/cooperatives. The Bank of Ghana conducts annual on-site audits of these institutions. Nonprofit organizations in Ghana are not regulated by any government agency.
Sources and Resources:
[1] The Africa Report, “Ghana to Improve Financial Service Delivery to Rural Areas”, http://www.theafricareport.com/archives2/business/5141652-ghana-to-improve-financial-service-delivery-to-rural-areas.html
MicroCapital.org Article, September 9, 2010 “World Bank and ARB Apex Bank of Ghana Release Report on Rural and Community Banks, Categorize Fifteen for Liquidation”, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-world-bank-and-arb-apex-bank-of-ghana-release-report-on-rural-and-community-banks-categorize-fifteen-for-liquidation/
MicroCapital.org Article, January 8, 2010, “KNOW A MICROFINANCE REGULATOR: Regulators of Microfinance in Ethiopia, Ghana, El Salvador and Jamaica”, https://www.microcapital.org/know-a-microfinance-regulator-regulators-of-microfinance-in-ethiopia-ghana-el-salvador-and-jamaica/
MicroCapital.org Article, June 5, 2008, “Ghanaian Government Loans $625k to Individuals and Groups in the Upper East Region of Ghana through its Microfinance and Small Loans Centre, MASLOC”, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-story-ghanaian-government-loans-625k-to-individuals-and-groups-in-the-upper-east-region-of-ghana-through-its-microfinance-and-small-loans-centre-masloc/
MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe profile, Bank of Ghana, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Bank+of+Ghana+%28BOG%29
Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/.
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