Tarkwa (Western Region), 23 Jan. '99,

Mr. P. K. Thompson, Managing Director of SSB Bank Ltd. has said in spite of the financial sector adjustment programme implemented in 1990, the banking industry still has room for improvement. Mr. Thompson said people have lost faith in cheques because they have proven to be ''fraudulent'' in some cases, adding that a number of business people prefer to transact business using cash which carries unbearable risks.

He stressed the need for a more dependable and convenient alternative payment arrangement in a challenging economic environment. In an address read for him at the launching of the Sika Card at Tarkwa on Friday, Mr Thompson said, the card which 'holds' money electronically, was launched by SSB Bank to solve problems associated with the excessive handling of currency notes which included loses through theft and degradation of thenotes through improper care.

Mr. Solomon Amoah, Wassa West District Chief Executive, called on financial institutions to evolve policies and services to redress the problem of excess cash in circulation and its effects on the economy. He said Sika Card has a lot of potential that must be exploited for the improvement of the economy.

The Central Regional Minister, Lt. Col. (rtd) Charles Agebenaza, launching the card at Cape Coast, described Sika Card as a new financial practice designed to address the crucial question of excess liquidity in the economy. It serves as an "electronic wallet or purse," he said, adding that the card has a lot of potentials not yet fully exploited for the improvement of the economy.

Apart from affording the user the personal convenience and safety in carrying huge sums of money for business transactions, the card "will ease the resources and pressure on the government to print new currency to replace defaced and mutilated notes". The Regional Minister called on people in the region to patronise the card to make it widely acceptable and called on the management of the bank to extend the card to other commercial towns in the region including Kasoa, Mankessim, Swedru, and Assin Foso.