The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Interbank Payment Platform Systems (GhIPPS), Mr Achie Hesse, has called on banks to embrace new global trends in banking to enhance their operational efficiency.
“While we rejoice over the various transformations we have seen in the industry, we also have to reflect on global trends and how we will position ourselves to embrace those changes at the local level as this will impact on our overall service delivery and efficiency as industry players.”
Mr Hesse made the call at the launch of the 14th edition of the Ghana Banking Awards in Accra.
This year’s edition of the awards is on the theme; “Identifying and Rewarding Excellence in the Banking Services Proposition”, and it is meant to reflect the competitive banking atmosphere in the country.
Mr Hesse said the banking industry had come a long way, adding, “From 1957 to date, 58 years gone by and not only have there been increases in the number of universal banks in the country but the industry has seen massive improvement in the operations of banks.”
According to him, it was, therefore, “a step in the right direction when banks which have exceptionally distinguished themselves in service delivery are acknowledged and motivated to keep up the good work”.
Mr. Hesse was convinced that this year’s awards under the theme would, like in previous years, reward deserving banks which have made customer satisfaction and good corporate governance the core of their business operations.
“Identifying and rewarding excellence in the banking sector does not only impact the reputation and corporate image of the award winners but the economy and the many individuals who have faith in the banking Industry,” he said, and noted, “It encourages creativity and innovation and promotes efficiency in all aspects of service delivery.”
CIG/GhIPPS partnership
Mr Hesse said as a company, GhIPSS was committed to and believed in providing convenience for bank customers.
“This is why we are happy to be associated with the awards scheme. We are particularly enthused about the Most Active e-zwich Bank Category which was introduced last year,” he said.
According to him, “The number of persons enrolled on the e-zwich keeps increasing with the collaboration between GhIPSS and various institutions, including some government agencies. It is, therefore, in the interest of banks to take advantage of these opportunities in getting the many unbanked Ghanaians onto the platform.”
Survey methodology
The Chairman of the Awards Planning Board and Chief Host, Nana Otuo Acheampong, said, “The awards are based on both quantitative and qualitative data obtained from and about the banks.”
He said, “The Banking Act provides an avenue to assemble a rich set of quantitative data on the banks,” adding, “The quantitative statistics are supplemented with qualitative surveys of both the banks and their customers.”
He said a research entity was then engaged to undertake surveys of both the banks and their customers for qualitative data while the approach/methodology process for the awards were scrutinised and agreed upon by the Technical Committee, consisting of representatives of the qualifying banks.
Source: Graphic