The 2024 Financial Stability Review has shown that cheque usage by volume declined slightly, but the total value of cheque-based transactions jumped by a striking 30.97%, hitting GH?384.96 billion.

This is up from GH?293.93 billion posted in 2023.

The marginal 0.15% drop in interbank cheque volumes under the Cheque Codeline Clearing (CCC) system suggests that while fewer cheques are being written, those that are processed now carry significantly more financial weight.

The divergence is a shift toward cheques being used predominantly for large corporate payments, high-value settlements or legacy institutional transactions.

The Ghana Interbank Settlement (GIS) platform recorded a 78.12% increase in transaction value, reaching GH?6.13 trillion, despite a 6.07% drop in volume further reinforcing the trend of fewer, but larger transactions.

Meanwhile, digital payment platforms continued their ascent.

The GhIPSS Instant Pay processed 161.2 million transactions worth GH?355.07 billion which is a 32% increase in value.

Internet banking transactions rose 114.9% in value to GH?212.44 billion, signalling increased consumer and business trust in digital financial services.

While the data underscores the resilience of traditional payment instruments like cheques, it also highlights the growing dominance of faster, more convenient digital options.

For businesses, the numbers point to a need to adapt payment strategies, balancing the security and familiarity of cheques with the efficiency of real-time digital transfers.