GhIPSS to roll out the national electronic switch soon

The Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) is to roll out the national electronic switch currently undergoing test runs to ensure total inter-operability among the banks.

The national switch will also enable all existing automated teller machines (ATM) cards to work in all ATM machines while all the ATM cards will also be accepted in the e-zwich point of sales devices.

These were contained in a statement signed by Mr Fred France, Chief Executive Officer of GhIPSS, copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Monday.

It said when it becomes operational, one of the existing features would be e-commerce gateway and that a number of businesses were positioning themselves to take advantage of this opportunity.

“However, with the National Switch in place, people living in Ghana can enjoy the full complements of online shopping,” the statement said.

It explained that this will enable settlement of transactions among the banks to take place without conflicts.

The statement expressed the hope that while GhIPSS provided the infrastructure, various service providers would launch onto it and create the platform for people to shop and pay online.

It emphasized that the system was robust and secured and said that Ghana was fast launching itself into the league of countries with modern payment systems.

The statement said: “Airline and hotel reservations are the most common forms of e-commerce, however, a number of shopping outlets, restaurants, and other service providers also provide the opportunity for customers to make enquiries and place orders online.”

It anticipated a whole chain of businesses will emerge and develop as people shop and pay online.

The statement said that government revenue in the form of taxes, registration fees and levies could be paid online, removing the human interface and reducing the elements that aided corruption and pilfering while creating convenience for the customer.

The organisation urged the public to consider electronic payment system and other Information Technology services as very important tools that should be used to make life a lot easier and to carry out business activities efficiently.

“The national switch will become operational by next month and the banks will then be expected to connect to the system to ensure that their customers enjoy the enhanced service,” the statement said.

Source: GNA