Rwanda’s cashless economy push has received a timely shot as regional lender KCB Bank Rwanda prepares to launch a new payment system that is tipped to expand digital and mobile banking services across the country.

The mVisa payment system "will enhance efficiency and quality of payment systems in Rwanda, as well as help reduce the cost of transactions and operations in the country.”

Maurice Toroitich, the KCB Bank Rwanda managing director, said the platform could fast-track efforts to transform Rwanda into a cashless economy.

"Investing in digital and mobile banking will further help reduce the cost of transaction and doing business in Rwanda and across the region.

"The facility will enhance areas like mobile banking, points of sale (POS), mobile payment systems, agency banking, as well as Internet banking,” Toroitich said in an interview with The New Times yesterday.

Embracing mVisa

The plan to roll out mVisa services is part of the bank’s innovative mobile payments solution that will boost efficiency and ensure convenience for clients besides reducing the cost of transactions.

Toroitich said the mVisa payment service will also allow customers to make payments at merchant outlets and online.

"The new mobile payment service will make it possible for businesses of any size to accept digital payments in Rwanda, with the simple use of a mobile application and mobile POS terminal,” he said of the facility to be unveiled next month. This means that bank clients can directly access their bank accounts on the go and settle transactions without visiting their branches. Boosting financial inclusion

Meanwhile, sector experts believe innovations like mVisa have the potential to bring on board the unbanked population into the formal banking sector.

"This has a multiplier effect in terms of boosting financial inclusion, as well as increasing access to services,” said Gilbert Munyampeta, a Kigali-based banker.