The 20 institutions approved by the Bank of Ghana to issue electronic money and provide payment services to the general public and the BoG joining the Basel Consultative Group (BCG), which sets and implements standards on banking supervision globally are some of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Friday.
The Graphic reports that the Bank of Ghana has granted approval to more than 20 institutions to issue electronic money and provide payment services to the general public.
It followed the passage of the Payment Systems and Services Act, 2019 (Act 987) and the publication of the central bank’s notice in June last year on Licensing Application Pack for Payment Service Providers.
A press statement from the bank listed the approved institutions, which are all private, to include Airtel Mobile Commerce Ghana Limited, operators of AirteltiGO Mobile Money, GCB Money, a subsidiary of GCB Bank, Hubtel Limited, Nsano Limited, ExpressPay Ghana Limited and Zeepay Limited.
The newspaper says that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has joined the Basel Consultative Group (BCG), a global body that sets and implements standards on banking supervision globally.
The bank said it was admitted into the global body recently, making Ghana one of four countries in Africa to be members of the BCG.
The other members are Tunisia, Mauritius and Nigeria.
The BCG is one of five working groups that form the internal structure of the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision (BCBS), the global standards-setting body for the supervision of banks.
The statement issued on Thursday said: “As membership of the BCBS is limited to G20 countries, the BCG provides a platform for the BCBS to engage with non-members, thereby, facilitating broader dialogue around the work, with banking supervisory authorities such as BoG and promoting supervisory cooperation and implementing supervisory standards and best practices.”
According to the statement, the BoG’s membership of the BCG will increase the exposure of its banking supervisory staff to best practices in the supervision of banks, and strengthen its cooperation with other supervisory authorities around the world.
“BoG remains committed to promoting the safety and soundness of Ghana’s banking sector through effective regulation and supervision,” the statement said.
The Graphic also reports that Vice-President of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has wished the Christian community in Ghana a happy celebrations this Easter and said that “the occasion should reawaken the passion to play a part in Ghana’s development and growth.”
In a Facebook post on Good Friday morning, he said “as Christians across the world commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Samira and I wish all a happy Easter.”
“While we reflect on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to humanity and await his return to save the world, the occasion should also reawaken our passion to play a part in Ghana’s development and growth,” he said.
He also advised Ghanaians to stay safe and continue to observe the Covid-19 protocols during the Easter celebration.
The Daily Guide says that the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) formerly the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) has commenced training for 500 selected Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across the country under the COVID-19 SME Innovation and Digitalisation Support Scheme.
The initiative, which is supported by ‘Invest for Jobs’ of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and implemented mainly by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) is aimed at providing digital solutions and skills to SMEs in order to promote operational efficiencies and business continuity.
This was in line with strategies adopted by the GEA and its partners to use technology as a tool to help businesses survive the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which required adapting to emerging market demands.
Speaking at the first training session organised for SMEs in the Greater Accra region, the Executive Director of GEA, Kosi Yankey-Ayeh said adopting technology in the COVID-19 era is “the new normal that is here to stay with us”.
“The digital solutions are key, so we need to make it work. It is important for us to realise that times have changed so when you are taught, you implement them,” she said.
She expressed her willingness to study how beneficial the training would be to the SMEs as there is an invested interest in understanding how digitalisation would help SMEs create more jobs.
GIK/APA