The Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB) has pledge to donate GH¢10 million towards the purchase of critical equipment for public education and managing the COVID-19 pandemic.
The move by the Ghana Association of Bankers is to further ensure sustainability of the banking industry and the economy.
The Association also announced measures to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the financial services sector, reaffirming commitment of members to provide, without interruption, critical services including cash payments, cash withdrawals, digital banking services, and international trade facilitation.
The Association and the Bank of Ghana, it said, in the best interest of protecting staff, customers, and the public, would adhere to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) under the Ministry of Health (MOH) hygiene protocols and guidelines on COVID-19.
In compliance with the protocols, enhanced hygiene standards are being implemented by member banks to keep their environments safe for customers and staff.
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“Members of the Ghana Association of Bankers are collaborating and have aligned their various Business Continuity Plans to ensure that critical banking services are readily available to customers,” the statement said.
It said the banks had agreed on actions, including shared services and facilities themselves, common access when required to each other’s Branch Networks, ATMS, and GhIPSS platform among others, in cases of distress due to the pandemic.
Besides, to enhance liquidity levels, current overnight limits will be increased to provide market liquidity.
Members would also adopt enhanced cash handling protocols by regularly sanitizing their hands to safeguard public health.
In addition to the above actions and to encourage the increase use of digital channels, the GAB for the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, waived Internet Banking charges, and various GhIPSS charges.
The Bankers appealed to customers to use the varied digital channels provided by their respective banks and the soon to be introduced QR Code payment service.
It added that the Ghana Association of Bankers would continue to monitor the consequences of the pandemic on the banking sector and actively take steps to mitigate possible impact on customers, employees and the public.
“These measures will be reviewed after a period of three months,” it added.
