Digitalisation to make access to credit easier – Dr. Boako

Economic advisor to the Vice President of Ghana Dr. Gideon Boako has noted that government’s digitalisation drive will have a rippling effect on reducing the cost of credit by banks.

According to him, the cost of credit is currently high when Ghanaians borrow from banks because of the lack of trust.

However, with the introduction of the Ghana Card and digital property address system banks can now trust creditors and hence will reduce the cost of credit with time.

Dr. Gideon Boako indicated that these initiatives will allow for traceability which has been an issue in the past.

He made this known when he addressed the press on the back of the Vice President’s lecture at the Ashesi University early this week.

“We have had years of life in Ghana where the identity and traceability of people have remained problematic. This has imposed huge risk on borrowers, hence the higher risk premium placed when people seek bank loans,” Dr. Gideon Boako said.

Adding that “We are addressing this problem with the national I.D and digital property address system. (Describe how banks certify borrower identity and traceability now). Ones the integration of the national I.D and the banking databases is ready, banks will have trust and confidence in a borrower’s identity and traceability. This will obviously bring down the cost of credit”.