Afia Ohemeng
Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems Limited (GhIPSS) has stated all bank customers are expected to be issued with gh-link cards before the end of this year.
The card does not prevent customers from acquiring an international card. The new development will give the customers the option to decide which card to use for their daily transactions rather than being limited to international cards
gh-link is the generic name for domestic cards issued by the various banks in Ghana. It allows the use of both domestic and international bank cards. Some financial institutions apparently, do not issue domestic cards, placing their customers at a disadvantage.
Banks earlier this year agreed that all local bank account holders would be issued with gh-link cards by December 2019.
The agreemant also covered the issue of the banks’ Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Point of Sales (PoS) and e-commerce being gh-link compliant by July of this year.
The need for banks to issue all their local account holders with gh-link cards follows a global trend towards domestic scheme cards.
Domestic card are more favorable for domestic transactions because domestic cards cost less to process and therefore users pay less as charges.
The Chief Executive of Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems Archie Hesse, commended the banks for their decision. He also said GhIPSS will work with them to ensure its success.
With the new decision by the banks, customers can now use international cards for international transactions and the gh-link cards for all their domestic transactions.
Source:Peacefm Online
