USTDA Supports Technology to Make Banking More Accessible in Ghana
August 12, 2011
(USTDA)
ACCRA, GHANA – USTDA awards a $496,000 grant to the Ghana Interbank Payments and
Settlement Systems Limited (GhIPPS) to help it determine the technical,
operational, and business requirements to expand participation in Ghana's
financial sector. The grant will fund technical assistance to evaluate the
extension of branchless banking services, including electronic payment systems
and other financial services, to underserved segments of Ghana's population.
Through this grant agreement, the project is expected to create more than $16
million in business opportunities for U.S. companies in the supply of
biometrically enabled ATMs, point of sale machines, and network hardware and
software to support financial transactions.
"We are excited to work with GhIPPS in developing Ghana's financial sector by
making banking services accessible and affordable throughout the country,"
stated USTDA Director Leocadia I. Zak. "USTDA's support for this assistance will
be of mutual economic benefit to the United States and Ghana by serving to
facilitate trade and strengthen our countries’ economic ties."
In recent years, GhIPPS has led the implementation of the e-Zwitch system in
Ghana, a biometrically enabled smart-card to facilitate electronic payments
between businesses and individuals. This technology has brought thousands of
Ghanaians into the formal banking sector and made electronic payments possible
in rural areas without access to bank branches or ICT services.
The grant was signed by Mr. Frederick France, Chief Executive Officer of Ghana
Interbank Payments and Settlement Systems Limited and Ms. Julie Furuta-Toy, the
Chargé d’Affairs at the U.S. Embassy on behalf of USTDA.
The opportunity to conduct the USTDA-funded feasibility study will be competed
on the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website. A link to the FBO
announcement will be posted to USTDA's website at www.ustda.gov. Interested U.S.
firms should submit proposals according to the instructions in the FBO
announcement. GhIPPS will select the U.S. contractor that will complete the
feasibility study.
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