BOG to sell 20% of Ghana Interbank Payment Systems

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August 17, 2016 3:41 PM

The Bank of Ghana has revealed that it is prepared to offload between 10 to 20% ownership in GhIPSS. This is to improve collaboration and efficiency.

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As much as 20%percent stake in the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems(GhIPSS) would soon be available to commercial banks in the country.

Chief Executive Officer of GhIPSS, Archie Hesse, who confirmed the information, said the central bank is currently in the processes of carving out modalities for the sale.

“They are flexible but we have heard that between 10 and 20 percent or so is what the central bank hopes to offload. As in other jurisdictions, the banks own somewhere in that region,” he said.

He pointed out that GhIPSS has completed one of the major processes which is the valuation.

Mr. Hesse added “We are currently understudying a couple of countries that have gone through this process. In our conversation in the past the central bank wants to leave that with the banks to decide the number of shares they would want to acquire,” he said.

The Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems Limited (GhIPSS) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bank of Ghana. It was incorporated in May 2007 with a mandate to implement and manage interoperable payment system infrastructures for banks and non bank financial institutions in Ghana.

In line with its mandate, GhIPSS has implemented and currently manages the National Switch and Biometric Smart Card Payment System, e-zwich and the Cheque Codeline Clearing (CCC) and Automated Clearing House (GACH) systems. The former switches and settles automated banking and payment transactions while the latter systems handle the electronic clearing of cheques and the processing and settlement of bulk debit and credit transfers between banks.

GhIPSS is committed to maintaining very high standards of excellence, reliability, integrity, and timeliness for all its infrastructure.

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