Head, Real Time Payments, Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems(GhIPSS), Mrs Akosua Blay has stated reasons why Ghana’s Universal QR Code Scheme GhQR Code was initiated.
Talking about what the GhQR code is all about, she explained that it is the newest and most exciting way to make payments in Ghana.
“It allows for a cost effective way for deploying at merchant location and it’s very cheap to deploy because, the merchant can receive money from anyone and is not limited” she shared.
She told Chelsy Sey on Y97.9 FM’s Ryse N Shyne Show this initiative was created because, “We realized that initially, we didn’t have a universal mode of acceptance so, you have banks setting up their own QR codes only their customers could use for payments and also mobile money entities coming up with a solution only their customers could use but others who aren’t their customers couldn’t use”.
She furthered that, the whole idea the GhQR sort to do was to come up with a standard that will enable all the participating institution customers be able to make payments irrespective of who set them up.
She emphasized that, they noticed that it is important to have a harmonized payment solution so that merchants can accept payments from all other sources not just those who set them up so it is easy for everyone to also experience a cash light Ghana and the digitalization that we keep talking about.
Mrs Akosua disclosed that, the campaign was launched, “Last year in March just when the COVID pandemic hit us here in Ghana so it was a low key launch attended by just a few people following the social distancing protocols and it was launched by H.E the Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia”.
GhQR is a new and easy way to make payments to a merchant by scanning a QR Code displayed by the merchant with your mobile phone. The merchant gets the money instantly, just like paying with cash
GhQR is interoperable because, with a single QR Code image displayed in a shop, a merchant can receive payments from customers with bank accounts, wallet accounts or card accounts from different banks and payment service providers across the country.
GhQR also allows Merchants to receive payments by displaying a QR Code generated by bank, mobile money operator or payment service provider. The GhQR generated for the merchants can either be a Static QR or a Dynamic QR. In addition to the QR codes, merchants have unique Terminal IDs assigned to each of their point of payments or tills to facilitate receipts via USSD from customers who use feature phones.
By: Gyamfuah Owusu-Ackom
