Payment of loans to students in various tertiary institutions in the country will soon be done through the e-zwich biometric smart card. Talks are currently on-going between officials of the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems Limited (GHIPSS) and the Students Loan Trust for the payment to be effected through the smar tcards. Mr Archie Hesse, General Manager, Projects and Business Development of GHIPSS, disclosed this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at a bank fair at the University of Ghana, Legon aimed at popularising the use of the smart card among students. The fair is part of a series of mass registration exercises being undertaken by GHIPPS and the Banks to enable as many people as possible to get the card and to transact business with it. A similar fair was held at the Accra Mall two weeks ago. The "National Switch and Smartcard Payments System", dubbed: "e-zwich", is an initiative of the Bank of Ghana (BOG) and provides a common platform to link the payments of all the financial and non-bank financial institutions. The e-zwich was introduced in April with a few banks on pilot basis and was gradually extended to cover the other banks. The card could be used for funds deposits, cash transfer to another card, cash withdrawals, merchant settlement at end of business and the payment of utility bills. It is hoped that the nationwide accessibility of the e-zwich would reduce cash handling, ensure personal safety in payment system due to its biometric authentication and eliminate inflationary price rounding-up practices. Mr Hesse said GHIPSS was also holding discussions with officials of pharmacy shops, the Oil Marketing Companies, shopping malls, the Accountant General as well as the Cocoa industry to register, accept and use the cards. About 25,000 people have so far been issued with the smart card since its launch in April this year and over 5,000 merchants had also been registered during the period through the establishment of point-of-sale (POS) terminals and now accept the card for payment for various transactions. The system can be readily accessed, easy to use for savings, payments and transfers and the management of various business transactions. Mr. Hesse said GHIPPS would not relent in its effort to continue education to extend reach of the cards and popularise its use among Ghanaians. Source: GNA