The third quarter industry performance report released by the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement System (GhIPSS), shows that funds transferred through the GhIPSS Instant Pay (GIP) stood at over 950,000 transactions.

This is significantly higher than the total transactions for the whole of last year, which was just a little over 140,000 transactions.

The growth in patronage for GIP follows public awareness created by GhIPSS, financial institutions and telcos as well as its usage by Fintechs.

The GIP is an instant way of making payments or transferring money electronically. Monies transferred through GIP hits the account or mobile money wallet of the recipient the very moment the money is sent.

Chief Executive of GhIPSS, Archie Hesse urged the public to use GIP any time they need to make or receive money urgently.

He explained that transfers made through GIP gets instant value and the recipient can use the money the moment it is transferred.

He also said that GIP was introduced to address the real time payment needs of businesses and individual and was hopeful that the uptake will continue to go up.

The GIP and Mobile Money Interoperability are two key payment channels that experts say will substantially deepen financial inclusion in Ghana.

The third quarter industry performance report indicates that majority of GIP transactions involve transfer of funds from bank account to mobile money wallet.

Almost 80 per cent of the over 950,000 transactions recorded between January and September this year, were transfers from bank accounts to mobile money wallet.

However, transfers from bank account to another bank account mostly used for higher value transactions accounted for almost 65 per cent of the value of transactions during the period.

Almost all the major banks offer GIP to their customers though their internet or mobile banking platforms.

Some Fintech companies also ride on the GIP platform to facilitate transactions across mobile phones and accounts.

Customers are able to transfer funds from their bank account to another bank account of a different bank and payment is effected instantly.

However, GIP also enables the public to transfer money from their bank account to their mobile money wallet.

This development continues to shows that most customers associate convenience with mobile money and other mobile banking solutions.