The acting Managing Director of ARB Apex Bank, Mr. Alex Kwasi Awuah has expressed commitment to government’s digitalization of the financial sector.
He said digital platforms are very pertinent today as every customer need convenience, noting that, with the crave in customer online transactions increased mostly due to the COVID-19 restrictions imposed on the economy which limited movements, the financial sector is beginning to witness strong and enduring habits that are gravitating more towards online customer-business interactions.
Government, last year, launched three policy initiatives designed to deepen financial inclusion and accelerate digital payments. The policies, which are the National Financial Inclusion and Development Strategy, the Digital Financial Services Policy, and Cash-Lite Roadmap, are in line with the government’s vision of building a payment system that accelerates economic development.
In an interview with B&FT during a workshop for financial inclusion in Accra, Mr. Awuah said digitalization is a sure way to go post COVID and that rural banks have not been left behind even though their clientele is mostly in the rural areas and small and medium scale enterprise.
“Every customer need convenience. Its gives them the opportunity to use the platform to transact with the institutions and they do not need to use the banking halls, especially, aftermath the COVID-19 pandemic is the way to go and ARB Apex bank is not left out,” he said
Mr. Awuah noted that, his outfit is implementing the agency banking platforms, which comes with mobile banking and internet banking. He explained that all of this will make the rural banks expand their operational network to make them more accessible to as many people as possible.
He, however, added that they will continue to use ‘brick and mortar’ in order to attract more agents to expand their activities as it is more affordable that way and will also make their activities more visible within their locality.
He was quick to add that “implementing is underway and we expect that when it is fully operationalized, as many Ghanaians as possible can transact business with them.”
First deputy governor the bank of Ghana, Dr. Matthew Opoku Afari in April during the 5th CEO’s summit confirmed government’s commitment to formalize the economy through digital technology.
He stated in his speech that the Bank of Ghana has issued a three-tier merchant digital account with proportionate onboarding requirements to guide financial service providers in meeting the peculiar needs of small and medium scale enterprises.
