Dr Gideon Boako, the spokesperson and economic adviser to the Vice President, has called on the heads of IMANI Ghana to apologize for what he claims was a misleading comment regarding Vice President Bawumia’s remarks on credit scoring system in Ghana.
During the 57th graduation of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi last week, Vice President Bawumia praised the usefulness of the Ghana card in establishing a robust credit scoring system to track and uniquely identify all borrowers.
However, Bright Simons, the Vice President of IMANI Ghana, a think tank, sought to downplay the accuracy of the information put out by the Vice President.
This was joined by other leaders of IMANI, including its President Franklin Cudjoe.
The two made references to a credit bureau company, XDSDATA Ghana Limited, arguing that the agency already had the system the Vice President was talking about.
However, XDSData Ghana Limited, a leading credit bureau in Ghana, has clarified through a press release that it has not produced individual credit scores in the country.
Given this, Dr. Boako, spokesperson for the Vice President, challenged the two to apologize for their comments.
XDSData Ghana explained that while the company can generate individual credit scores, it has faced challenges due to the lack of a unique identifier.
According to the Managing Director of XDSData, George K. Ahiafor, Ghana Card penetration, a potential unique identifier, is currently at 35 per cent, as indicated by tracking from the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
Mr. Ahiafor anticipates that XDSData will start releasing individual credit scores when Ghana Card penetration reaches 90 percent, hopefully by the end of the year 2024.
Presently, facilities are accessed using various forms of identification, making it challenging for the bureau to capture a credit subject’s total exposure accurately.
However, Mr. Ahiafor emphasized that XDSData produces credit information comparable to international credit bureaus, providing adequate data for lenders to make informed credit decisions.
He disclosed that the mandatory use of the Ghana Card for all financial transactions since July 1, 2022, has led to Data Providers submitting Ghana Card information to the bureau.
However, he said credit scoring models require unique identifiers for comprehensive mapping of information, and the slow pace of Ghana Card information penetration remains a challenge.
Mr. Ahiafor highlighted the importance of active participation and support from the Bank of Ghana to ensure credit bureaus receive adequate Ghana Card data from Data Providers.
He explained that this collaborative effort aims to incorporate all aspects of the credit ecosystem into scoring calculations.