Banker calls for increased campaign on payment system

There is need for an intensive campaign to educate the public about the modern national payment system if government is to enjoy its benefits. “More needs to be done to increase its usage, educate the public on its safety and efficiency,” said Stephen Mwaura, head of National Payment system in the Central Bank of Kenya. Mwaura explained that the usage should be at 80 per cent of the value and the remaining low value 20 percent in the normal retail system. “In Kenya, we introduced value capping. Any transaction over Ksh1m should not go through the clearing house but through Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS),” he said during a three day training on the National Payment System. Fifty people from different banks and telecom companies were trained on innovation in payment systems, Rwanda payment system modernisation, national and regional payment system development and mobile payment. “They may not be operating well but at least the crucial part is done and it is picking up quickly, I am optimistic it is going to change our society,” Mwaura hailed. He added that next month, Rwanda Real Time Gross Network will be linked to Kenya and Ugandan network. Recently, National Bank of Rwanda implemented the Rwanda Integrated Payments Processing System (RIPPS), which encompasses the Automated Clearing House (ACH), the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and the Central Securities Depository (CSD). They are all running on the same platform. Central bank has set guidelines for mobile phone payment systems that will cater for safety, integrity, efficiency and reliability. “The process is fast and secure, however, at the beginning it was a challenge to adopt to the new system especially with Virtual Private Network (VPN),” said Theophile Kabanda an IT expert in Zigama Credit and Saving Scheme. Central bank Governor, Amb. Claver Gatete, told participants that: “The speed, safety and the convenience of transactions is the most important thing. Delays in payment can freeze the whole economy.” “With no cash you are safe and it means that all the money stays in the banking system and this positively affects the growth of the economy because there is enough liquidity to lend to private sector.” Ends

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Banker calls for increased campaign on payment system