In 2011, before I started my National Service, I was asked to get an e-zwich smart card because the service secretariat was going to pay all allowances onto the card. I was not happy at the directive; this was new to me and like the typical Ghanaian that I am, adjusting to change was difficult. I needed physical cash and not electronic funds. I followed the directive all the same.

I got my card from the nearest bank because e-zwich card can be secured from any bank other than a bank you save with. I didn’t need an account with a bank to get an e-zwich card from them. When it was time for our first allowance, I went to the Kumasi sub-metro NSS office with a letter from my employers, signed a document and then loaded my cash with a POS that was at their office. The next minute, I was in the nearest bank to withdraw my money. It was an easy process but what I realized was that some of my colleagues did not get the e-zwich card. I was later informed that the secretariat had “compromised” on its own directive”• the e-zwich card was no longer compulsory for all service persons. At least I was happy I got the card because it was much convenient for me, owing to the fact that it helped me avoid all the long queues in the banking hall. It was safer as well; the only physical cash I needed was the one for “troski”. There was no fear of losing the funds on the card no matter what happened.

Using the smartcard came with some challenges because the banks always created the impression that “the system was always down”. To date, I don’t know which system they were talking about. This notwithstanding, a cashless Ghanaian economy would help the country; it has the propensity of checking inflation. I say this because; there would be no rounding up of prices because for fear of not getting change for a customer. I hope Ghanaians would be more daring and embrace e-zwich. I know there are much more that can be done with an e-zwich card: The e-zwich retail application manages the flow of funds between customers and merchants, it can be used for paying bills, card 2 card transfers of funds, Bank to card and card to bank funds transfer. There is also the payment distribution system that makes the payment of salaries, allowances, loans etc possible without any duplication. Interestingly, the e-zwich smart card gives the cardholder two wallets; Primary and Savings which operates like current and savings accounts respectively. Funds deposited into the savings wallet can earn interest at a rate set by the issuer of the card.

I am happy for this year’s service persons because there are more POS in the system coupled with the fact that they can load and withdraw funds as well from any savings and Loans company and Rural Banks. Am sure there are also more merchants and shops with POS now. If the LEAP initiative pays beneficiaries on e-zwich then am optimistic that our folks serving in the rural areas are covered.

It is thus welcoming that National Service Secretariat has embraced e-zwich again. I think the whole ghost name saga thing could have ended in 2011 if the secretariat had insisted on paying every service person on the e-zwich card. I know the e-zwich platform can detect duplications in the Unique Serial Number, the amount to be paid and even the number of cards a person has.

According to Dr. Kpessa Whyte, 75,000 ghost names have been prevented from entering the National service payroll due to measures his outfit has taken. We laud him for that; I hope what happened in “2011” will not appear like a thief in broad daylight. He has to work together with GhIPSS and the banks to ensure this works and work effectively. I know the e-zwich smartcard uses biometric (fingerprint) authentication and so nobody can have access to money, without presenting their “physical selves”.

If e-zwich, which is a National electronic payment system can do the magic of checking corruption and ghost names, then what is the Nation waiting for? It shouldn’t take us this long to even see its relevance. The Controller and Accountant Generals Department should as a matter of urgency, implement the paying of workers on e-zwich; in that way the issue of ghost names will be a thing of the past; the banks will also sit up in their delivery of e-zwich services.