Government Set To Roll Out E-Cash Transactions in Ministries and LG's across the country

Government of Uganda is set to implement E-Cash solution to enable Ministries , Agencies and Local Governments to streamline and effectively manage cash transactions
Kampala- Bank of Uganda plans to submit to the Ministry of Finance a National Payments Policy to regulate digital payments.

Speaking during the launch of a partnership between MTN, Mastercard and United Bank for Africa, Mr Mackay Aumo, the Central Bank National Payments Systems director, said the National Payments policy was being fast tracked to enable efficient regulation of the domain.

“We are at a consultative phase. We are fast-tracking the national payments law. The draft is now ready. It has been circulated to stakeholders for input,” he said, adding that the first week of October will entail face-to-face discussions with the stakeholders as they seek to address any comments that will have been raised.

Last year, Mr Benedict Ssekabira, the Central Bank executive director for commercial banking, during the launch of Instant Interbank Transfer system, said Bank of Uganda was working on a 2017-2022 strategic plan that will reduce the use of paper notes and cheques, among others.

“We have planned to enhance and enable e-payments within the next five years because we want to reduce paper payments,” he said.

The policy, Mr Aumo said, will seek to streamline regulation, a key ingredient that is currently missing in the digital payments system.
The law will, for instance, separate and licence new businesses such that those that handle mobile money are separated from voice and data services.
As a prerequisite for licencing a new digital payments platform, the policy will also check for national and international incompatibility such that money is handled by financial institutions using escrow accounts.