About 1,000 ATM available to bank customers via gh-link

The service is currently available to customers who use the local cards of their various banks. GhIPSS, however, is in talks with Visa and MasterCard to enable their branded cards to be hooked to the platform.

The Manager in charge of Projects and Communications at GhIPSS, Mr Kwaku Tettey, in an interview, said the initiative was aimed at making more ATMs available and accessible to bank customers.

“Hitherto, customers with local cards could only use their bank’s ATM and we all know the frustration when your bank’s ATM is down. Today, you have almost 1,000 ATMs, and counting, at your disposal,” he said.

Mr Tettey encouraged the public to enjoy the “new freedom powered by gh-link” by using the ATMs of any of the 17 banks, which include most of the major banks operating in the country.

Between 1,500 and 1,700 people are using other bank’s ATM every week, according to data available to GhIPSS and the figure is expected to increase in the coming week.

Mr Tettey said three additional banks, including Fidelity, are almost through with the processes and would soon be connected to increase the number of banks on the gh-link platform to 20.

The Project and Communications Manager added that data also showed that customers of bigger banks were using the ATMs of banks considered to be relatively small, possibly because of the strategic location of their ATMs.

Mr Tettey added that GhIPSS had begun discussions with Savings and Loans companies with ATM cards to enable them to be connected to the platform so that their customers could also access the ATMs of the commercial banks.

It is anticipated that all banks issuing ATM cards will be on gh-link by the end of the first quarter, which will mean that all cards will work in all ATMs.

The GhIPSS has also expressed the hope that Visa and MasterCard branded ATMs would also come on board shortly.

The 17 banks on the platform are the Ghana Commercial Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Barclays Bank, Zenith Bank, Agriculture Development Bank and UT Bank.

The others are Ecobank, Stanbic Bank, Access Bank, SG-SSB, Unibank, HFC Bank, Prudential Bank, United Bank for Africa, Guaranty Trust Bank, Bank of Africa and Energy Bank.

GNA