Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Inter-Bank Payments and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS), Mr Archie Hesse has welcomed a call from former Governor of the central bank, Dr Paul Acquah for the risks involved in the country’s electronic payment systems to be well managed.
Mr Archie described the call as timely and hoped the regulator would take up the challenge and steer the affairs of the industry adequately.
Dr Acquah who made the observation during the closing stages of public lectures held in Accra in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the GhIPSS had called on the central bank to effectively manage risks inherent in the industry
The celebration is under the theme: "10 Years of Promoting Electronic Payments in Ghana." The lecture was on the Evolution of Payment Systems in Ghana.
“One has to look at the risk involved in a potential failure or a potential lack of viability of any participant in the industry and that is where the central bank’s role to protect the stability of the financial system comes in handy,” he observed.
According to him, the financial sector was a privileged industry so that the criteria for entry and participation had to be transparent, plain and promote a considerable degree of safety. On the issue of acceptance on the part of consumers, the former Governor said it bordered on “information, education and transparency in selling or promoting the product to consumers.”
Dr Acquah further charged the regulator to educate consumers so they have confidence in the products and services the system has to offer. Protecting the consumer, according to him was key.
He pointed out that “the issues within the industry are multi-dimensional and there is a need for the regulator to hold frequent fora to discuss the challenges found within so that we don’t have a situation where failure in one segment affects the entire operation of the system.”
It was obvious that the future was digital and how one prepares to take advantage of the opportunities offered by technology while managing the risks associated with it.
Agreeing with the former governor, GhIPSS CEO prayed the regulator to be wary of allowing “every Tom, Dick and Harry to hop into the space.”
“The risks can be managed by limiting the number of individuals who could come on board to jeopardize it and then become single point of failures within the whole ecosystem; it’s important that we treat it as a special club; the payment system is a special club and cannot be diluted,” he told this reporter.
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