Gov’t To Pay Workers Via e-Zwich

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems, (GhIPSS), Archie Hesse has welcomed President John Mahama’s description of the e-Zwich card as the best medium for paying public sector workers.

President Mahama, at the opening of a two-day high level conference on National Anti-corruption Action Plan in Accra recently, noted that the National Service Secretariat (NSS) would start paying allowances on the e-zwich and subsequently extend it to all government-subverted organisations.

This decision, the President said, was part of efforts to fight corruption.

Speaking in an interview, Mr Hesse commended President Mahama for taking such a decision.

He said GhIPSS was ready to accomplish the task.

The biometric features of the e-Zwich card make it impossible for multiple payment of salaries while people who do not exist cannot cash monies paid them since a live finger is required to access monies paid onto the e-Zwich card, he indicated.

He said apart from fighting payroll fraud, paying public sector workers through the biometric payments system would significantly usher Ghana into an electronic payment regime.

Mr Hesse explained that if public sector workers get part of their salaries on their e-zwich card, they would be greatly motivated to use the cards to shop.

GhIPSS has rolled out more than 200 Point of Sales terminals (POS) in Accra alone and these terminals accept both e-Zwich and normal ATM cards, the GhIPSS CEO said.

The moment shop owners and other service providers get to know that this huge number of people will have active e-Zwich cards, they will secure and make the POSes available in addition to introducing all kinds of schemes to attract customers.

In advanced countries, the use of cards to shop has become the norm, and card issuers constantly come out with various discount schemes to encourage people to shop with them, Mr Hesse said.

Source: Daily Guide