GHANA:Telcos not taking over banks with interoperability

Telecom industry players have insisted they are not taking the place of banks with the launch of the mobile money interoperability.

The telecom operators however believe the new system should help reduce the number of people not captured within the banking population.

The comment comes less than a week to the official launch of the mobile money interoperability.

The mobile money interoperability is to allow a seamless transfer of cash from one network to another.

The platform will also allow customers transfer money from their bank accounts to their wallets.

The telecoms industry is upbeat with the move, but the Director of Vodafone Cash, Matinson Obeng- Adjei, disagrees that this is an attempt to take over the role of traditional banks.

“We are just creating easy access for customers to transfer money from their bank accounts to their wallets and vice versa…I do not think it is an attempt to take over the role of banks; it is a complementary service,” he explained.

The system is being operated by the Ghana Interbank and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) which assumed the role after a botched agreement with Sibton Switch systems in 2016.

The company had quoted 4.6 billion cedis as cost of providing the platform, but the government considered the figure as expensive.

GhIPSS has however missed at least three deadlines for the implementation.

Nonetheless, the Business Development Manager at MTN, Abdul Majeed Rufai, says there is extensive engagement for the industry players to input into the operations of the platform.

“We have been heavily involved as operators; all the stakeholders within the telecom industry as well as the Chamber of Telecommunications,” he emphasized.

Data from the Bank of Ghana show that as at March 2018, the total volume of transactions reached 1,294,491,444.

Meanwhile, between 2012 and March 2018, the total value of transactions has increased drastically from 594 million cedis to 208.1 billion cedis (GH¢208,197,640,000).

The CEO of GhIPSS, Archie Hesse, is equally expectant of the new platform as it will help in attaining the financial inclusion drive as targeted by the government.

SOURCE:GHANAWEB