President John Mahama has projected that the height of cashless transactions with government institutions will be achieved by 2021 .
Delivering highlights of the ruling National Democratic Congress, NDC, 2016 manifesto at the State Banquet Hall in Accra, Tuesday, the President, who is seeking election on December 7, said the move will enable government play a lead role in ensuring a cashless society.
“By 2021, if you have to pay money to government anywhere, we won’t accept cash it has to be by bank transfer or mobile money or cards”, he said.
Ghana’s attempts towards a robust system that supports purchases of goods or services through credit card or electronic funds transfers rather than with cash or checks has been steady but dreary.
The key challenge has been an absence of a clear policy to consolidate a national drive towards a checkless society.
Although mobile money is making significant inroads currently, a cashless economy seems light years behind as only a handful of private businesses and government agencies accept payment for goods and services through mobile money.
The introduction of electronic cards such as the E-zwich has not improved the situation.
However, speaking at the State Banquet Hall, the President said his administration is working to make Ghana a cashless economy in order to promote enhanced trade and business transactions.
He revealed that as part of Ghana’s three-year Extended Credit Facility with the International Monetary Fund, IMF, there are ongoing fiscal consolidation programme targeted at institutional and structural reform.
“Some of the things we are doing, working with the Bank of Ghana, is to scale up the processes to redue the high level of cash transations; including supporting the use of electronic payment platforms to effect payments for all forms of financial obligations to public institutions,” he said.
Apart from fast tracking transactions, a cashless economy can cut down on corruption and underhand dealings that have been the bane of Ghana’s public institutions as it provides a more reliable record of all transactions electronically.
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