The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has inaugurated a Payment Systems Council aimed at collaborating all regulatory bodies involved in the country’s payment scheme.
The council, which is made up of various groups including the Ghana Bankers Association, the National Communications Authority, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ghana Revenue Authority, among others will operate under the central bank.
As part of its duties, the council will facilitates corporation between market participants and regulators in the payment ecosystem and also promote common initiatives towards the implementation of the financial market infrastructure.
Speaking at the inauguration of the council, the Head of Payment Systems Department at the BoG, Dr. Setor Amediku maintained that the fundamental aim of the council is to protect the consumer through a pricing working group under it.
“On the pricing working group, they are to protect the interest of the consumer and doing that, they provide enough information. They will advise the council, what are the sort of information they need to provide to the ordinary consumer to be able to make choices. The pricing working group is not going to recommend for fixation of prices,” he said.
Assuring that the BoG will not attempt to regulate prices, Dr. Amediku stated that the central bank has gone beyond such policies, hence will not reintroduce it.
“I think the central bank is way ahead of fixing pricing. We promote competition so that prices will adjust by themselves. It is to protect the interest of the consumer,” he said.
Citing the publications of annual percentages as an example, Drr. Amediku stressed that the central bank is now interested in a free market where activities reflect the forces.
“For example now for the Bank of Ghana we have started disclosing annual percentage rate, which provide the true cost of credit to the consumer. If you take the mobile money sub sector are people well informed in making choices. So this what the pricing working group will be doing from the consumer”.
–
By:Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana