Rwanda joins Comesa payment system

Rwanda has joined a new regional payment system, which is expected to facilitate trade and ease cross border money transfer within the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), according to the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR).The new system, which is dubbed “Regional Payment and Settlement in System (REPSS)”, will be linked to the Rwanda Integrated Payment Processing System (RIPPS), which was launched early last year.“This will bring down transaction costs to 0.25 per from previous 5 per cent and eliminate the unnecessary delays in intra regional trade,” said Ambassador Claver Gatete, BNR Governor.He added that the system “has been tested with success and Rwanda is pioneering in the system together with other African countries.” With the new system, traders will have faster, safer, secure and cheaper ways of paying for their goods and services, BNR says.It will initially be used by traders Mauritius, Sudan, Rwanda and Swaziland. Other Comesa member countries are also expected to join.Claver Gatete said National Bankof Rwanda will be connected to a clearing house that will also be linked to Mauritius Central bank to easily settle transactions across borders in US dollars and Euro currencies.The system will allow transactions to be channeled from the importer’s commercial bank through his/her central bank to the exporter’s central bank and finally the exporter’s commercial bank.Central bank figures indicate that COMESA intra-regional trade in 2010 stood at US$174 billion, while cross border payments recorded through correspondent banking system amounted to US$600 million per year.Absence of secure and reliable payment infrastructure in COMESA has been one of the challenges hampering trade in the region.

News

Rwanda joins Comesa payment system