Rural Banks to use E-zwitch system

Page 35 Thursday December 18 2008
THE ARB Apex Bank, in collaboration with the Ghana Inter-bank Payments and Settlements System (GhIPSS), will start the deployment of the electronic payment system, the e-zwich, in some rural banks in the country from next week.
This follows the successful piloting of the system in two rural banks.
The Manya Krobo Rural Bank in the Eastern Region and the Union Rural Bank in the Central Region, where the system was piloted, would start full operation of e-zwich, including the issuing of electronic smart cards from next week.
The e-Banking Manager of the ARB Apex Bank, Mr George Essien, told the Daily Graphic yesterday that a total of eight rural banks in the country had been selected for training and deployment.
He said out of the number of rural and community banks, six were in the Ashanti Region.
They are Adansi, Atwima Kwanwoma, Amansie, Odotobri, Sekyere and Nwabiagya rural banks in the Ashanti Region.
Mr Essien indicated that four rural banks in the Greater Accra Region had undergone training and had the Point of Sale (POS) devices which they would start using very soon.
Those in Accra include the La Community Rural Bank, the Ga Rural Bank and Abokobi Rural Bank.
The deployment of the e-zwich in all the 124 rural banks in the country would be a big boost to operating a cashless system in the country, as a lot of money in circulation in the rural areas is often not in the banking system.
According to him, everyone was qualified to use the device after satisfying the necessary requirements.
The smart card enables customers of the rural banks to load their salaries on the electronic device, and thereby ensure convenience and safety.
It also enables inter-bank transactions in which one could move cash, deposit or transfer money electronically and instantly, irrespective of the bank.
The e-Banking manager encouraged customers of rural banks to resort to the use of the card to ensure the safety of their monies, adding that because the device was biometric — it uses a fingerprint as a password — no one could withdraw money from anyone's account without the person's express authorisation.
"In a situation where one could not go to the bank due to ill health, a relative or friend could be added to the withdrawal list, to act on behalf of the client but only a limited amount could be withdrawn in that instance," he explained.
"There are a lot of advantages when using the electronic payment system and the e-zwich because although only one account will be opened, it takes care of two accounts, the savings and current account," he said.
Mr Essien said in the event that the card got lost, the money would still be intact until the card was replaced.