The CEO of Ghana Association of Bankers (​GAB) has called on the central bank to introduce regulations that will make use of cash for transactions in the country uncomfortable.

John Awuah explained that the increase in attacks on bullion vans and mobile money vendors by armed robbers can partly be attributed to the use of cash in transacting business instead of digital payment platforms.

The CEO of GAB was speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show ,Tuesday.

According to him, although 95 per cent of business transactions in the country can be undertaken through various cashless systems, people still withdraw and pay for goods and services with money.

Thus, merchants always have cash at hand, making them targets of these criminals.

“When you go into a banking hall right now and you ask people in the queue what they want to do with the money they are about to withdraw, about 90 per cent will tell you they are going to purchase something.

Incidentally, the place they are going to purchase those items, are places where they could have transferred the money to, digitally using digital payment platforms available now.

Unfortunately, anytime we want to undertake transactions, the first thing that comes to mind is, let me go to the bank and withdraw money’,” he said.

He added, “But these [digital] payment platforms should be the first options we resort to when engaging in transactions.

"If we do that, the merchant will not have cash accumulated at the shop, banks will not have a reason to go to the shop to take that cash and the robber will not have any motivation to visit a shop or attack a van because that van has gone to pick cash.”

Mr Awuah subsequently suggested that the Bank of Ghana should consider introducing fees for withdrawal of cash from financial institutions.

“We have to make it uncomfortable. We need the regulator on our side. There must be a rule that if you are paying in cash at a branch, we need to introduce a charge. Or there is a digital alternative and you decide to execute it, we [bankers] should be allowed to charge a fee,” he stated.