By M.A. Kunateh, in Accra, Ghana
Senior Risk Advisor of Misys, a multinational software company headquartered in London, which specialises in software for banking, capital markets, lending, enterprise risk and investment management has urged Ghanaian banks to increase the deployment of electronic banking services to grow their businesses in the country.
Bradley Ziff explained that the deployment of electronic banking services could also reduce the risk, especially cybercrimes, in the West African country. The Misys’ Senior Risk Advisor, Mr. Ziff, who paid a working to Ghana last week, told African Eye News that: “The advancement of electronic banking and indigenous banking is a real opportunity in the emerging markets, including Ghana, because it is spreading fast”.
He thinks one of the areas that the banks should focus on is in making sure that people are comfortable in using mobile devices effectively to transact banking. For this to be done hassle-free, Mr. Ziff called on telecom service providers and the Ghana government to double their investments in the provision of telecom infrastructure so as to ensure 24/7 internet connectivity in the country.
As you know in Nigeria, for instance, they have moved in the direction of having cash-light economy and part of that is to reduce crimes, and to reduce the risk of carrying money, but to do that you have to be comfortable that the clients have regular internet to connect them to the automated teller machines and point of sale devices to enable them transact businesses, the renowned risk advisor stated.
Mr. Ziff added: “So, to me this unquestionably is the way to the future. Because if you walk on the streets of Accra, which I have, and I have the chance to go to a number of the highly underprivileged areas in New York city and other parts of Africa that need investment, you still see people there carrying mobile phones, tablets and devices. So that is the direction which people are moving in the next three to five years, this means mobile banking has a future”.
The Regional Head of Ericsson Sub-Saharan Africa, Fredrik Jejdling stressed: “Mobile banking has provided consumers with cheaper access to their finances due to a reduced need to travel and the lower overall cost of using a mobile phone for financial transactions”. The large number of people in Sub-Saharan Africa who do not have bank accounts suggests that mobile phones may be the only way that many people will be able to access financial services.
There is strong interest in mobile financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa. 58 percent of mobile users in the region show an interest in using mobile banking and mobile wallets in future, according to Ericsson’s latest report on mobility.
This innovation is boosting financial inclusion at all levels of society across the region. Digital technology is fast becoming a part of everyday life in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, among others in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. Because of this, operators, governments and an array of enterprises in the region are looking to develop services and products that meet the needs of the growing ICT user base.
