Archie Hesse Bows Out After Pioneering 17-Year Leadership at GhIPSS
The Board and Management of the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems Limited (GhIPSS) have announced the retirement of Chief Executive Officer Archie Hesse, effective Tuesday, July 1, 2025, marking the end of nearly two decades of transformative leadership in Ghana’s financial technology space.
Mr. Hesse, who joined GhIPSS in 2007 as General Manager in charge of Projects and Business Development, is widely credited with spearheading key innovations that have defined Ghana’s modern payment systems architecture.
Among his early achievements was the rollout of the National Biometric Smart Card Banking and Payment System, popularly known as e-zwich. The platform became instrumental in supporting government-to-person (G2P) payments, particularly for social protection programmes.
He also played a pivotal role in establishing the Cheque Codeline Clearing (CCC) System and the Ghana Automated Clearing House (GACH), which significantly improved the efficiency of bulk payments and collections in the corporate sector. Mr. Hesse further led the implementation of the gh-link platform — Ghana’s National Switching and Processing System — which serves as the backbone for the domestic EMV card scheme.
One of the hallmark achievements of his tenure was the 2015 introduction of the GhIPSS Instant Pay (GIP) platform. The innovation catalysed real-time interbank payments and laid the groundwork for Ghana’s Mobile Money Interoperability (MMI) platform launched in 2018, enabling seamless transfers across banks and telecom operators.
Under his leadership, GhIPSS also collaborated with the Ghana Association of Banks in 2022 to launch GhanaPay — a shared mobile money platform tailored for the banking sector to advance financial inclusion efforts.
Mr. Hesse is also praised for instituting sound financial and governance practices that transitioned GhIPSS from a subvented entity into a financially self-reliant institution.
In the interim, the Board has appointed Mr. Kwadwo Ntim, General Manager for Operations and Technology, as Acting Chief Executive Officer.
The Board, Management, and Staff of GhIPSS have expressed their heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Hesse for his visionary leadership and invaluable contributions to the advancement of Ghana’s cash-lite economy, and to the broader financial services ecosystem.
