Archie Hesse : “Biometric KYC enables us to save millions of dollars”

The CEO of the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) was one of the speakers at the “Cash-Lite Economy” seminar held in Mauritius mid-March. In the following interview, he focuses on technology as a major asset for the banking sector.

BUSINESSMAG. Your visit to Mauritius follows closely that of the Vice-President of Ghana, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who was this year’s Chief Guest for the National Day celebrations. Your first impressions?

I am very happy to be in Mauritius, just after the visit of our Vice-President from Ghana. In fact, let me take this opportunity to wish Mauritius a belated happy birthday. Personally, I came here to speak at the seminar on “Cash-Lite Economy” organized by IDML and PayCode, a topic very much of interest to me as this is the area where we have done quite some progress in Ghana.

BUSINESSMAG. Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlements Systems (GhIPSS) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bank of Ghana. Could you tell us about its activities?

Since year 2008, we have implemented technology to enable the citizens of Ghana to benefit from secure payment and settlement systems. In the past, people had to queue up to receive services such as pensions and social grants (food grants, for example). Now, technology allows for fast service and transparency while ensuring that the right person benefits from the service he or she is entitled to through a biometric know your customer (KYC) system. As soon as this technology was implemented in Ghana, it enabled us to get rid of “ghost accounts” created by people who were not supposed to benefit from grants. We therefore saved millions of dollars immediately.

BUSINESSMAG. In what other ways did technology improve your country’s banking system?

At GhIPSS, which, as you have said, is owned by the Central Bank of Ghana, we allowed all other banks to own equal shares in the company. This enabled smaller institutions to benefit from the network of automated teller machines (ATMs) and point of sale (POS) services which we provide. In addition, we were able to lower the cost of transactions to at least half, owing to a white label card, for which the fees are more than half the amount usually paid to International Card Services. So, the value addition of GhIPSS is to promote transparency and security through biometric KYC, provide reliable and rapid settlement services, be accountable to donors and the community using social grants, reduce the cost of operations and allow small banks to benefit from the network.

BUSINESSMAG. As regards the use of advanced technologies, the private sector is way ahead of the public sector in Mauritius. Is it also the case in Ghana?

The private sector is also very innovative in Ghana, namely by using technology to reduce costs. Furthermore, mobile technology is growing across Africa at a phenomenal rate, and will soon be the medium to transact. However, security and transparency are issues relating to that technology which need to be addressed. What is more, with the technology we use, KYC and settlement are easily implemented with data controls and analytics.