Finance Minister, Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, has charged banking institutions in Ghana, to come up with innovative products to attract more remittances.
He said with an estimated four to six million Ghanaians resident outside the country, the remittance market remained a core sector with great growth potential for the country.
“Banks are expected to have products that will attract more remittances. Clients could be advised to invest in short and medium-term instruments such as mutual funds, stock-exchange listed securities and government treasury bills to enhance development in the country,” he said.
In a speech read on his behalf at the launch of the MoneyGram payment systems by Merchant Bank Ghana (MBG), the minister urged the private sector to demand innovative financial products that were linked to remittances and were supportive of the development objectives of the country in order to have inclusive financial mechanisms for the provision of basic goods and services and the sustenance of livelihoods and entrepreneurship.
Mr Baah-Wiredu observed that the MoneyGram payment system was one of the leading providers of international person-to-person money transfer, with a network of 100,000 local agents across 170 countries.
The Managing Director of MBG, Mr Paul Baah-Sackey, said the partnership with MoneyGram offered the opportunity to extend services to Ghanaians.
“We believe we are bringing to the MoneyGram family our exceptional service quality and a relationship that will last a lifetime,” he said.
He noted that the bank improved relationships with and expedited services to customers that enabled growth in its customer base and an improvement in profit levels.
“The coming on board of MoneyGram does not only enhance our menu of remittance products but increases our ability to serve Ghanaians in over 180 countries,” Mr Baah-Sackey remarked.
The managing director said the bank embarked upon various social responsibility activities that included supporting the Mfantsipim School Library project, the Ghana International School, the national Empretec delegates conference and sponsoring a series of seminars of the Institute of Social, Statistical and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana.
The Chief Manager of Banking and Supervision at the Bank of Ghana, Mr Boyd Donkor, said efficiency in the banking system called for extra vigilance on the part of regulators and supervisors.
“In order to ensure that the financial system remains stable and efficient, regulatory and supervisory laws should be reviewed periodically to respond to current developments in the banking system,” he said.
Mr Donkor pledged the Bank of Ghana’s support as a regulatory body to institute a framework that would provide safeguards for customers and assistance for banks in their development of new and modified products.
Story by Jasmine Afari-Mintah
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