Countries are undergoing a rapid expansion of digitisation and technological advancements. It touches nearly all aspects of life, individually and institutionally. Furthermore, the surge in digitisation has grown operational efficiency and service delivery in all the key sectors of public and commercial importance. The 2017 World Payments Report (WPR) predicts that “non-cash transaction volumes will record a CAGR of 10.9% during 2015- 2020E.”
The government of Ghana is seeking to harness the shift from cash to digital payments by developing a national inclusive digital payments ecosystem. The main agenda is to make payments digitally accessible for everyone. The Ministry of Finance has drawn up digital Payments Roadmap with support from the Better Than Cash Alliance.
Legal and Regulatory Environment
Banking and digital payments are all about trust and confidence. Security, safety, prudence, and transparency are vital for the success of any financial sector. Ghana’s banking and payments system relies on a robust set of laws, guidelines, and regulations that have pushed the evolution of the payments system. Some of them are:
(a) Bank of Ghana Act, 2002, Act 612
(b) The Payment Systems Act, 2003, Act 662
(c) The Bills of Exchange Act, 1961, Act 55
Simultaneously, like the rest of the world, Ghana has witnessed a wave of technological advancements. By giving birth to the growing number of fintech companies and aggregators providing payment solutions to the financial sector. According to the report, there are currently more than 70 fintech companies in Ghana. Many of them are actively pursuing the formation of an association to promote visibility and advocacy for the sector. It also serves as a platform for engagement and for ensuring orderly behaviour.
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The Roadmap
However, the country has made significant progress in increasing access to financial services. Still, a good proportion of Ghanaians either do not have access to or cannot participate in what is available. The roadmap identifies key actions and initiatives to leverage existing strengths and opportunities in the Ghanaian payments ecosystem. To implement in projects for high impact for effective digital transformation. It is organised in 3 phases, namely:
Phase 1
Expanding the road to digital payments = It recommends scalable
solutions to provide excluded Ghanaians with easy payment options, thereby augmenting their payment opportunities. It also recommends actions with high impact potential to quickly open up and deepen the scope of digital money transfer in Ghana.
Phase 2
Driving payments into accelerated digitization = The key actions a described regarding the capability of galvanising digital payments. Also, escalating the rate of digitisation in the country.
Phase 3
Sustaining the pace of digitization = The first two phases reveal the prevalence of digital payment modes, and the parameters are set to escalate the pace of digitisation. Therefore, phase three aims for longer-term actions to sustain the momentum toward increased digitisation of payments in Ghana.
Way forward
From the preceding, it is clear that much more works are to be done to bring Ghana’s vision to fruition. Even though some key questions are worth considering, such as the key drivers of digital adoption and usage of digital products and services in Ghana? Furthermore, since the proportion of women to men is quite significant, it would be helpful to adopt mechanisms that overcome gender-specific barriers. The considerations form the basis of the Ghana Digital Payments Roadmap developed to be implemented within the designated timeframe, focusing first on quick wins with potential for maximum impact.
Ghana is making positive strides toward increased digitisation of payments. The country has developed its critical financial market and payments infrastructure to transform into a “cash-lite” economy. It includes an automated clearing house (ACH), a real-time gross settlement system (RTGS), electronic funds transfer (EFT), and many more. Recently, the government has introduced an interoperable switch that facilitates payments across financial institutions and mobile money accounts. With ATL Money Transfer, now you can transfer money from anywhere to Ghana and many other countries. We have come up with three simple steps that will help you send money to your loved ones. We accept debit/credit cards, internet banking and bank transfer.