Communications Ministry to register E-commerce operators for secure online profile

The Postal and Courier Services Regulatory Commission (PCSRC), a regulatory agency of the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation (MOCD), is putting measures in place to register all e-commerce operators to provide them with a secure online profile.

The exercise will be done at no cost and will help the Commission root out e-commerce fraud in the country.

A statement signed by Hamdaratu Zakaria, Executive Secretary, PCSRC, and copied to the Ghana News Agency said a free-to-use electronic portal had already been developed to enable all members of the public to obtain directory information on all registered e-commerce traders and logistics companies (including courier services) in good standing with the PCSRC before doing business with them.

It said the system would be integrated with telecom and corporate registries to close existing loopholes.

Furthermore, the statement said a complaint and business rating system would be centralised so that fraudulent persons and sham businesses no longer hid behind the current anonymity provided by digital technology to dupe unsuspecting members of the public.

“They will be blacklisted. This is absolutely necessary to sanitise this rapidly growing sector and provide security for the conduct of genuine online business. All of these efforts are in line with the Government of Ghana’s Digitalisation Agenda,” it said.

It said the ongoing trade liberalisation regime under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS) had complicated domestic regulations since businesses could now trade across national borders using the internet.

The statement said fraudulent operatives took advantage of that to evade local law enforcement authorities by sometimes operating from neighbouring countries.

It said the PCSRC had thus also joined the AfCFTA Hub and Caravan initiatives and successfully integrated its regulatory platform with the continental system.

The statement said going forward, the Commission would work together with other agencies in Ghana and across the region to tighten the noose around digital fraudsters regardless of where they operated.  

It said in May 2022, the new regime for regulating digital trading and logistics enterprises would be launched.