Business

ACH Direct Credit volume goes up

The first quarter industry performance for electronic payments by the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement System (GhIPSS), shows that though cheques remain the most used non cash form of payment, the volume of transactions for the first quarter of 2019 dropped compared to the same period last year.

 On the other hand, the volume of Direct Credit transactions for the first quarter of 2019 was marginally higher than the volume for the same period in 2018.

According to GhIPSS patronage for Direct Credit went up by about 4.2 per cent to 1.47 million transactions but it dropped by 7.4 percentto 1.55 million transactions for cheques.

 Throwing light on the development, Chief Executive of GhIPSS, Mr. Archie Hesse said globally, Direct Credit was preferred to cheque because of the obvious advantages it has over cheques.

He therefore encouraged organisations as well as individuals to turn to Direct Credit for their payments.

 He said their banks should be able to explain how they can access it.

Mr. Hesse however added that Direct Credit was more useful for bulk payments.

Direct Credit which is one of the two forms of Automated Clearing House (ACH), is a simple, secure and reliable service which enables individuals, large and small organisations to make payments by electronic transfer directly into a bank account.

It involves a debit to an account in the sender´s bank and a transfer of the amount of money directly into the beneficiary´s account in another bank.

The electronic nature of the Direct Credit makes disbursement of bulk funds quicker, safer, more secure and requires less effort and saves time. It also enables intended recipients to receive their funds on time.

Direct Credit is used for payment of salaries, pensions, welfare benefits, commissions, supplier payments, dividend and refunds among others.

 It is also suitable for interest payments, government payments, as well as business-to-business payments.

By Kingsley Asare

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