Ghana’s “Gh-link” Leads To ATM Use Spike

By Chanel Smith (@PYMNTS_EMEA)

Before banks in Ghana launched the platform known as Gh-link last year, bank customers could only use their local card at their provider’s ATM. If their bank’s ATM was down, then they were out of luck.

Since Ghana’s banking industry integrated the Gh-link platform, new data from Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) revealed that the number of bank customers who are using other banks’ ATMs has spiked by nearly 600 percent. In January 2013 roughly 7,400 such transactions were made, compared to August 2013’s results, which reported almost 50,000 transactions. The significant jump indicates that banking customers value financial services that increase convenience and accessibility.

Before the beginning of 2013, only a handful of bank customers in Ghana were connected to the Gh-Link platform. The platform launched in November 2012 by GhIPSS and was created to allow banks in Ghana to interconnect. The initiative empowered customers with the freedom to access their funds from other banks’ ATMs, instead of only being able to use their providers’ machines.

By January of 2013, 17 banks were added to the Gh-link network, and there are now 27 banks in Ghana that are connected through Gh-link. The expansion gave these banks a common electronic platform from which to operate, thus providing customers with access to about 1,000 more ATMs across Ghana, reported Ghana Web. GhIPSS’ data shows that in the first week of January this year, only an average of 1,400 transactions were made each week.

At present, figures have increased and now over 13,000 transactions are made per week. Additionally, between 1,500 and 1,700 customers are seeking other banks’ ATMs on a weekly basis, which is a figure that is predicted to continue increasing.

Gh-link only accepts local cards, however GhIPSS members have revealed there has been talk of adding MasterCard-branded electronic cards in the near future.

The head of business development at GhIPSS, Mary Dei Sarpong, stated to Ghana Web, “The era when people went around in search of their bank’s ATM is becoming a thing of the past, because the nearest available ATM can be accessed.”

To read the full article at Ghana Web click here and here.