RWANDA – Payment solution company RSwitch, which serves as the national e-payment switch of Rwanda, has announced a new partnership with African fintech giant EFT Corporation to expand access of Rwandans to their money across all technological platforms.

The deal will see RSwitch benefit from EFT’s extensive suite of end-to-end payment solutions, enabling faster transactions between banks, mobile operators and ATMs. The new capabilities will allow Rwandan citizens to access their money seamlessly and accelerate the local economy.

“These are incredibly exciting times for RSwitch and this partnership will enable us rapidly increase our payments capabilities by benefiting from EFT’s powerful technology solutions,” Mathieu Rwiyereka, CEO, RSwitch comments.

“Our mission is to extend full financial inclusivity to every citizen in Rwanda, and we will continue to innovate and bring new products and services to enable this to happen.”

RSwitch, which was established in 2003 with a vision to run Rwanda’s electronic payment system has seen rapid growth in recent years and has expanded its remit to serving as a financial interoperable solution company.

The company’s online payment gateway facilitates merchants to collect their payments from different channels, namely: Visa cards, MasterCard, Union pay, Amex, Smartcash as well as mobile wallets.

“The RSwitch team have a proven track record of designing and delivering world-class payments services to citizens across Rwanda and we are proud to be working alongside such an innovative organisation,” Grant Flanagan, Chief Operating Officer of EFT Corporation added.

“Our combined expertise and technology will further accelerate financial solutions to millions of people in Africa and is another landmark moment in EFT’s continued expansion.”

The deal will support the Government of Rwanda’s Vision 2050 to accelerate to an upper middle-income country by 2035, supported by a robust and inclusive financial sector, including a safe, reliable, and efficient payment system.

In May this year RSwitch collaborated with Mobile Money Rwanda Ltd and Airtel Mobile Commerce Ltd to launch eKash which will facilitate interoperability between mobile money operators.

Airtel Money and Mobile Money Rwanda Limited customers will be able to send and receive money to each other instantly with their respective wallets thanks to the integration of both institution’s platforms through the RNDPS without additional cost.

This milestone is one of the use cases of the interoperability project under the name of Rwanda National Digital Payment System (RNDPS).

The RNDPS is an interoperable and instant payment between all financial institutions including Commercial Banks, Mobile Network Operators, Microfinances, SACCOs as well as other FinTech Companies.

This is in line with the government vision of achieving the cashless economy in Rwanda.

Rwandan consumers will benefit from improved customer convenience, lower transaction costs and increased value from the improved range of products and services through digital payments by enabling service consumers to transact seamlessly and with ease from anywhere.

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