Bussiness
July 1 Deadline: You Wil Not Lose Your Account But Your Risk Profile Will Increase – Bank To Customers
Bank customers who fail or are unable to link their GhanaCard to their bank accounts before the July 1 deadline, will not lose the account but will have their risk profile elevated, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Bankers Association, John Awuah has said.
If they fail to link the Card to the accounts, the banks are going to scale up due diligence when such customers attempt to transact business, Mr Awauh stressed.
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) had earlier directed that starting July 1, the GhanaCard shall be the only identification card to undertake transactions at all BoG licensed and regulated financial institutions.
“In furtherance of its objective of ensuring the safety of the financial system, Bank of Ghana pursuant to Regulation 7 of the National Identity Register, 2012 (L.I.2111), hereby directs that with effect from 1st July, 2022, the Ghana Card shall be the only identification card that will be used to undertake transactions at all Bank of Ghana licensed and regulated financial institutions including: i. Banks; ii. Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions; iii. Non-Deposit-Taking Financial Institutions; iv. Payment Service Providers and Dedicated Electronic Money Issuers; v. Forex Bureaus and Credit Reference Bureaus,” the regulator said.
Speaking in interview with TV3, on Thursday June 30, just a day before the deadline, Mr John Awuah said “If you don’t have it and the deadline comes, yes, your account will not be closed but the risk profile for your account will just be elevated and therefore, there will be extra due diligence that the banks will ask before you can transact.
“This is a situation you don’t want to put yourself into. So for your own convenience and for your own safety, the GhanaCard also provides extra safety in terms of security features. Some banks have sent links to their customers to update their records.”
Meanwhile, the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) has warned that fraudsters are taking undue advantage of the exercise to link the GhanaCard to bank accounts.
EOCO said these fraudsters send messages to suspecting customers demanding their bank account details, Mobile App PIN and Mobile numbers.
A statement by EOCO on Thursday June 30 said it has taken “notice with great concerns the rate at which some members of the general public have fallen victims to fraudulent banking transactions.
“Fraudsters have taken advantage of the ongoing call on customers of bank to link their accounts to Ghana Card. Regarding the bank fraud, the fraudulent messages are sent to individuals requesting them to click on links in order to update their bank records.
“Customers are therefore asked to provide their bank account names, Mobile numbers, Mobile App PIN , One Time Password. Some daring fraudsters even make phone calls to members of the public to request for the aforementioned information.
“Do not click on any link purporting to be emanating from your bank unless you have confirmed from your bank,” EOCO warned.
Source: 3news
Bussiness
Ghana’s GDP shows economy is fast recovering despite DDEP – Finance Ministry
Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) indicates a rapid economic recovery despite global challenges and ongoing debt restructuring, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF).
The Ministry in a statement today indicated that latest data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), cumulative economic growth for the second quarter (Q2) of 2024 reached 6.9%, a notable increase from the 4.7% recorded in the first quarter of 2024.
The MoF statement further noted that, “The economy’s robust recovery is in response to the macroeconomic stability and growth interventions that government is pursuing under our IMF-supported Post Covid-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG).”
According to them, the overall real GDP growth for the first half of 2024 rebounded strongly, with year-on-year GDP growth averaging 5.8% for the period, significantly higher than the 2.9% recorded in the same period in 2023.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
Read full statement below
Bussiness
Facebook, Youtube, online trading companies must be taxed – Deputy Finance Minister
The Deputy Finance Minister Dr Alex Ampaabeng, has proposed that online trading companies should be taxed to bolster the economy.
He noted that these companies, both local and international, generate significant revenue from their Ghanaian clients, which underscores the necessity for taxation.
In an interview with Bernard Avle on Channel One TV’s The Point of View, Dr Ampaabeng pointed out various potential revenue sources for Ghana, including online businesses and content creation companies.
He questioned why other national companies operating in Ghana are taxed, but social media platforms like Youtube and Facebook, which run numerous advertisements, are not included in the Ghanaian tax system.
According to him, these social media companies earn profits from the advertisements they display, and online trading companies also generate income from the sale of their products and services.
He mentioned online trading companies such as Jiji, Jumia, and Tonaton, which he believes surpass all physical marketplaces in Ghana in size.
According to him, “I can’t think of a country which has not gotten a digital service tax system of some sort, so Ghana is long overdue. Just to make an example so that people will appreciate where I’m coming from. Go to Youtube and play a video, within one or two minutes, you are going to watch about two, or three adverts.”
“What it tells you is that Facebook or Youtube is making profits right here in Ghana. Go to your Facebook account, and you are going to see a number of adverts on your right, left. What it is telling you is that Facebook is making profits right here in Ghana and not being taxed. Meanwhile, there are companies operating in Ghana, for jurisdiction reasons, of course, that are being taxed,” he said.
The Deputy Minister added that “So then, it comes to the question of the application of our tax laws. Revenues generated in Ghana are subject to taxes. We have Facebook, TikTok and all those players, these are digital platform owners.”
He stressed, “Then we have the digital or market players, here we are talking about individuals who are using the digital platforms. We have Jiji, Jumia, Tonaton, these combined, are bigger than all physical marketplaces in Ghana. And it tells you the volume of transactions, that are going on there.”
He expressed his hope that individuals earning online profits from Ghanaian residents would be taxed.
“There are conversations ongoing, I wouldn’t want to pre-empt anything, maybe in the future, it might not be anytime soon, what I would like to see, is a Ghana where people who are earning all forms of profits in the country are subject to taxes. People who are trading online to Ghanaian residents, people who are generating revenue from Ghana are allowed to pay taxes,” he noted.
Additionally, he proposed a collaboration with the government to curb cybercrime by registering and verifying these online trading companies.
“We can have a system where the government engages these operators, so individuals will submit their Ghana Card and are registered and verified,”he concluded.
Source: Citinewsroom.com
