The global payment solutions provider has partnered with Ghana Interbank Payment Settlement Systems.
HPS, a global payment solutions provider, has launched a new universal QR code payment solution in partnership with Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS), a Bank of Ghana Subsidiary.
The quick response barcode solution is meant to help consumers make fast and convenient transactions.
The launch included the Universal QR code and Proxy Pay platforms in a move the country is taking to reach a state of cashless society. It is was created to allow shoppers to complete instant transactions to pay for products and services from various sources of funding such as bank accounts, credit cards, mobile wallets and others.
To use this system to complete a transaction, all that is required is for the consumer to display a quick response code which can be scanned by the recipient. The service also makes it possible for feature phone users (smart phone predecessors that are still popular in the country) to complete mobile payment transactions by way of a USSD Code generated through their payment service provider.
Ghana’s universal QR code payment solution (GhQR) is meant to decrease reliance on cash.
GhQR is expected to become widely used as it makes it possible for virtually every mobile phone owner to use that device to make payments without cash. Merchants are able to receive payments instantly by way of a dynamic or static QR code, which transfers funds to the merchant’s chosen account.
The GhQR’s implementation was a timely one as it aligned with recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) which recommends contactless payment solutions over the use of cash throughout the pandemic. The goal is to further reduce the chance that payment transactions could spread COVID-19.
This new universal QR code system has made Ghana the first African country to harmonize a national barcode-based payment system. This means customers and merchants can use various funding sources on any platform and still complete transactions with one another. It avoids brand-specific technology 
that would limit the transactions to certain devices, apps or other technologies. As a result, it is available to anyone with a phone.
