News

E-zwich offers instant payment to Ghanaian Farmers

February 23, 2012

Licensed buying and agro-processing companies can now avoid the risk of moving huge sums of money around to pay farmers by using the e-zwich Payment Distribution System to make payments, said a report from the government of Ghana.

The PDS system enables quick disbursement of money of any amount to recipients regardless of where they are in the country. Currently, payment to farmers is done through cash or check. Payors must trek distances through the various farming communities in order to pay the farmers. 

Archie Hesse, general manager in charge of project and business development at GhIPSS, said that with PDS farmers can be paid from a central location and receive their money instantly. “All that is required is for these farmers to have an e-zwich card and thereafter any time the payment can be done electronically to them,” Hesse said. Farmers can then access their cash from any bank or e-zwich ATM.

Hesse urged banks to see PDS as an opportunity to reach out to the unbanked. “There is business in there for financial institutions and they can make some good returns” he said.

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