The
BoG
in
November
2007
announced
the
policy
of
increasing
the
minimum
capital
requirement
of
banks.
The
policy
required
banks
and
deposit
taking
non-‐bank
financial
institutions
to
submit
capitalization
plans
by
the
end
of
June
2008
towards
a
minimum
capital
of
GH¢60
million
for
universal
banks
from
the
current
GH
¢7
million.
To
cushion
local
banks,
the
BoG
has
advised
banks
with
local
majority
share
ownership
to
attain
a
capitalization
of
GH¢25
million
by
the
end
of
2010
and
GH¢60
million
by
2012.
The
policy
is
expected
to
enable
banks
to
take
part
in
bigger
transactions,
compete
internationally
and
to
support
the
country’s
drive
for
accelerated
economic
growth.
The
BoG
in
collaboration
with
the
Association
of
Bankers
introduced
the
National
Switch
(E-‐
zwich)
and
the
Biometric
Smartcard
(e-‐zwich
smartcard)
as
part
of
the
GIPSS
project.
The
E-‐
zwich
is
not
only
a
brand
name
for
a
secured
common
platform
that
links
payment
systems
of
all
banks,
savings
an
loans
institutions
and
rural
banks
but
also
a
vehicle
for
financial
institutions
to
deliver
financial
products
to
the
banking
and
non-‐banking
public.
The
card
according
to
the
BoG
will
serve
as
a
vehicle
to
transform
Ghana
from
a
predominantly
cash
economy
to
an
economy
dominated
by
electronic
transactions
using
modern
state
of
the
art
technology.
The
smartcard
can
also
be
used
for:
•
payment
of
wages
to
workers
on
government
payroll.
Because
of
the
biometric
identification
system,
ghost
workers
on
the
public
payroll
would
be
eliminated;
•
payment
of
pensions;
•
spending
on
goods
in
merchant
outlets
with
VAT
credited
directly
to
Government;
•
payment
of
utility
bills;
•
transferring
funds
to
third
parties;
(Individuals,
Merchants,
Employees,
Cocoa
farmers,
Pensioners,
Revenue
Agencies,
etc);
•
receiving
funds
from
third
parties
from
within
or
out
of
the
country;
•
withdrawing
cash
from
any
ATM
in
the
country.
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