eCedi To Address Fraud-Related Issues In Ghana—BoG
MTN Ghana has taken another judicious step by organizing a Stakeholder Forum under the theme: “Assessing the Impact of the Central Bank’s Digital Currency on the Future of Digital Payments.”
The forum which was held as part of the MTN MoMo Month celebration paved the way for the stakeholders to brainstorm over the Impact of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) on Future Digital Payments.
The E-Cedi is a proposed central bank digital currency (CBDC) for Ghana which seeks to improve financial inclusion as it complements the Ghanaian cedi, and serves as an alternative to physical cash and the ‘Cashlite Agenda.
Speaking at the forum in Accra, Mr. Clarence Blay, Assistant Director of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), hinted that the Central Bank has already begun piloting the Electronic Cedi as part of its move to address constraints before the rollout.
“The eCedi is not intended to replace Mobile Money, but rather to enhance it and other digital payments in the country.
It would help enhance the integrity of payment systems, address fraud issues, and improve the speed of liquidation of money while promoting security,” he explained.
Furthermore, the eCedi is coming to build on the sector’s gains by promoting inclusiveness, positive disruption to the financial service landscape, leveraging FSP capabilities, user-centric design, complementarity, and interoperability.
He, therefore, called for a strong collaboration to enable the country’s upcoming electronic Cedi (eCedi) work.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mobile Money Limited, Eli Hini stated that after transitioning through various forms of digital payment transactions, it is critical that other opportunities that have yet to be explored are fully utilized for the benefit of all.
He said Central Bank Digital Currencies have become an important tool all over the world due to the opportunities they offer for clearing and settlements, domestic transfer, as well as demand for efficient cross-border value transfer.
Mr. Eli Hini however, underscored the need for all stakeholders to engage in critical discussion on eCedi in order to ensure that it successfully integrates with the nation’s current digital payment systems.
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The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IT Consortium, Mr. Romeo, implored the central bank to prioritize the protection of customer data during the implementation of the eCedi.
Despite the difficulties, he claims that the introduction of the eCedi is exciting news for anyone involved in the fintech sector.
“For us in the fintech sector, this is an exciting time for us…We should not be worried about challenges but focus on the opportunities to build businesses around them. We need to plan ahead and come up with solutions,” he stated.
Source: Isaac Kofi Dzokpo/mydailynewsonline.com
