The Chief Information Officer for Ghana & West Africa at the Standard Chartered Bank, Sheikh Jobe, has disclosed that the bank is well positioned digitally to take full advantage of interoperability among banks and telecommunication companies when it is fully rolled out in Ghana.

According to him, to drive the economy of a country to acceptable levels which will yield the needed dividend in terms of growth, then interoperability is the best bet.

The issue of interoperability among banks and telecommunication companies in the country had been under discussions with the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhiPSS) charged with the responsibility to building the systems and platforms.

Interoperability refers to the ability of a subscriber to transact business financially both internal and external within the financial eco-system which has banks, telecommunication, fintech companies among others.

The Vice President, Dr. Mahamoud Bawumia, at the Ghana Economic Outlook and Business Strategy Conference announced that the government was giving the regulator GhiPPSS and stakeholders up to the end of the year to ensure the interoperability of telcos and banks.

But speaking at the “Facts behind the Figures” to present the 2016 performance of the bank to the thebftonline.com, Sheikh Jobe said Standard Chartered Bank has been investing heavily in the technology in anticipation of the interoperability.

“If you want to drive the economy to the level that everybody is looking for, then one of the things that we must have is the interoperability, so yes, we are very much in support of that, and that is what keep driving us. It is also the reason why we intend to continually investing heavily in technology or digitisation. We have started the journey on that already as today, if you are customer of a bank you can visit the ATM of another bank and use it. Another step which is fantastic is the instant pay platform of GhiPPS.”

“But let me say that, Standard Chartered Bank, we have made it even more easier for you by actually putting the instant pay on your mobile. So, if I need to transfer money to you, I go on my mobile and transfer the money to you in another bank which will hit your account instantly. So, I can say, the interoperability journey has begun and is a journey that is progressing and one piece at a time you will see that we are progressing. But there have to be culture of change as well which allow us all to maximize the benefits of the change.”

The bank, which post favorable financial results in 2016, saw its operating income of GH¢621 million up 17% over previous year as a result of stable underlying business.

Operating expense also according to the financial figures from the bank decreased by 15% to GH¢194 million compared to GH¢227 million in 2015, resulting from continued focus on our cost management strategy and gains from operational efficiency.

With regards to impairment, it was down 62% from GH¢212 million to GH¢81 million through effective recovery and restructuring efforts undertaken during the year.

Commenting on the 2016 results of the bank during the interaction with investors and other stakeholders, the Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited, Mansa Nettey, said “as I indicated in 2016, we set out certain performance targets and we have seen that it yielded the desired results and we will continue with that strategy by also investing heavily in digitisation and investing in our personnel. Also, as the economy grows we hope to grow our assets as a bank by taking advantage of key sectors like manufacturing, oil and gas plus the Small and Medium Size areas.”

On the central bank dropping the policy rate to 23.5% from the 25.5%, Mansa Nettey said the bank was happy to see the policy rate dropped as that will improve the business environment in the country which will in turn help the bank grow its assets.

“We are also happy to see the policy rate begin to trend downwards, because as the economy improves our business do better which means business or our clients are also doing better. So, I expect that as things improves in the economy we are better position to grow our assets,” She added.