Large corporate organisations and public-sector institutions can receive instant payment electronically if they sign onto the e-bills pay system introduced by the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement System (GhIPSS). This should address payment challenges and improve efficiency at these organisations.
The e-bills pay system is targetted at large organisations such as manufacturers which deal with wholesalers and retailers. It can also be used by airlines and big hotels to receive payments from customers. It is also suitable for public sector institutions which receive taxes, levies and fees.
The e-bills pay is the latest initiative by the national payment infrastructure provider as it seeks to modernise payments in Ghana in line with best practices globally.
The e-bills pay runs on the back of the Instant Pay system and will enable customers of large corporate organisations to pay for goods and services electronically so the money will be received by the companies instantly. It eliminates the issuance of cheques and delay associated with the days cheques take to clear. It also eliminates the cumbersome processes involved in sorting out cheques from thousands of customers.
Speaking in an interview, Mr. Archie Hesse, the Chief Executive Officer of GhIPSS, said the e-bills pay will introduce efficiency in how large corporate organisations handle their payments, while making business expedient for the customer as well. He explained that since the e-bills pay is instant, the situation wherein customers or wholesalers and retailers have to wait for their cheques to clear or payments to go through before receiving their consignment of goods no longer exists because the payment is immediate.
e-bills payment is electronic and can be accessed via mobile applications or Internet banking, which means customers will not need to be physically present to make payments but can do so from the comfort of their offices, homes or wherever they find themselves.
Mr. Hesse is hopeful that e-bills pay will address a lot of payment anomalies and reconciliation challenges that large organisations face in dealing with a large number of customers.
The initiative is one of the key projects that GhIPSS has set out to drive this year. Mr. Hesse said GhIPSS has already signed on some airlines and public-sector institutions, and is in talks with some others to also get on board. He said GhIPSS will embark on extensive engagements with corporate institutions with good information technology set-ups, to encourage them to also use e-bills pay. As with other initiatives by GhIPSS, e-bills pay is being offered through the banks.
