Mr
Philip
Amoateng,
Director
of
Telecel
Cash
and
Digital
Transformation,
has
advocated
competitive
collaboration
between
FinTech
firms
and
banks
as
the
best
approach
to
accelerating
financial
inclusion
in
Ghana.
Mr
Amoateng
is
of
the
conviction
that
combining
the
decades-long
trust
in
traditional
banks
and
the
growing
power
and
convenience
of
FinTech
platforms
will
exponentially
grow
the
financial
services
sector
and
help
capture
unbanked
target
markets.
Speaking
in
a
plenary
discussion
at
the
Ministry
of
Finance’s
Ghana
Financial
Inclusion
Conference
on
the
subject
“FinTech,
Digital
Services
and
Mobile
Money:
Competition
or
Collaboration”,
he
said,
“Real
financial
inclusion
requires
us
to
break
out
of
our
silos
and
work
together
to
expand
financial
services
to
millions
who
are
currently
excluded
from
the
traditional
finance
system.”
His
remarks
come
at
a
time
when
technological
progress
and
innovation
have
catapulted
the
fintech
sector
from
the
fringes
to
the
forefront
of
financial
services.
FinTech
investments
are
growing
exponentially
across
the
continent
with
a
projected
$230
billion
in
revenues
by
2025,
according
to
McKinsey.
Commending
the
Bank
of
Ghana
for
its
policy
and
regulatory
support
of
FinTech
integration
in
the
finance
sector,
Mr
Amoateng
said
the
real
test
as
of
now
is
to
push
innovation
beyond
FinTech
platforms
and
serve
marginalised
people
in
remote
areas
through
community
collaboration
and
co-sharing.
“Telcos
are
doing
more
for
financial
inclusion
with
about
19
million
Ghanaians
having
mobile
money
wallets
as
compared
to
people
with
bank
accounts
which
are
significantly
less.
Imagine
the
impact
if
FinTech
and
banks
joined
forces
to
expand
networks
in
rural
areas.
We
could
create
a
financial
lifeline
for
millions
of
unbanked
people
who
are
not
in
the
financial
system,”
Mr
Amoateng
said.
Explaining
why
collaboration
should
take
precedence
over
competition,
Mr
Amoateng
highlighted
that
while
competition
had
driven
the
FinTech
sector
forward,
there
was
more
merit
to
exploring
cross-collaborations.
“With
interoperability,
the
industry
can
work
together
to
create
a
more
inclusive
financial
landscape,”
he
said.
Other
panellists
gave
concerted
submissions
calling
for
the
protection
of
ethics
and
trust
in
finance,
digital
literacy
for
more
people,
innovative
disruption,
and
complementary
collaboration
between
FinTech
companies
and
banks
in
the
finance
space.
BY
KINGSLEY
ASARE