Efforts to see the increased usage of domestic scheme cards, is yielding results as about 17 universal banks now issue the cards to their customers, the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) has disclosed.
Currently GCB bank, Ecobank, Standard Chartered Bank, Cal Bank, Consolidated Bank Ghana, Agriculture Development Bank and Fidelity Bank issue gh-link cards. The others are Guaranty Trust Bank, United Bank for Africa, Bank of Africa, National Investment Bank, Universal Merchant Bank and Zenith bank.
The rest are Republic Bank, Prudential Bank, OmniBSIC and ARB Apex Bank. Savings and Loans companies such as Best Point, Opportunity International and SIS&L also issue the domestic scheme cards.
The Bank of Ghana and three savings and loans companies also issue the cards.
Chief Executive of GhIPSS, Archie Hesse, speaking in an interview in Accra yesterday commended banks that issue gh-link cards to their customers and urged others to follow suit.
He said it was appropriate to offer customers the freedom to choose which scheme they want instead of foisting one on them as it used to be.
Mr Hesse explained that it was best to use the gh-link cards for all transactions within Ghana.
He urged bank customers, who did not have a domestic card to ask for one from their banks.
The domestic scheme cards are cards issued by banks locally and the transactions carried out with the cards are processed within Ghana unlike the international scheme cards which are processed in a different country.
The general name for Ghana’s domestic scheme card is gh-link card, although some financial institutions may have specific names for their domestic cards.
In most countries, domestic scheme cards are used for transactions within the country while international scheme cards are used when people travel abroad or when they buy online from a company in another country.
However in Ghana, it has been the practice that international scheme cards are used for both domestic and international transactions, largely because of the late development of an interoperable domestic scheme card.
The Bank of Ghana and its partners Mr Hesse said, were seeking to reverse the trend by compelling all banks to issue the domestic cards alongside any other cards.
“Ghana now has a robust interoperable domestic scheme card, meaning any domestic card can be used on virtually all automated teller machines in the country and any payment outlet with a displayed gh-link logo,” he said.
BY DAVID ADADEVOH